The Wedding Day Reflection
by marly4077
Summary: The sequel to The True Love Stratagem and the final story in my TBBT AU. Sheldon and Rosemary prepare to walk down the aisle, but before they do, the couple reflects on the months of their engagement, recalling good times with friends both old and new and precious moments with family. Story features all characters, fun locations, romance, comedy, adventure, and angst.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

 **The Engagement Photos Expedition**

Mid-morning on a Saturday in late July 2017, Dr. Sheldon Cooper stood regarding his reflection in the mirror, making sure his bow tie looked perfect. Standing alone in the Kilauea room of his friends Sally and Glenn's bed and breakfast, he listened to the house around him, bustling with movement and noise. He could hear a large number of people talking downstairs, cheerful, excited voices, waiting for the ceremony, Sheldon imagining them milling around. He looked up at the ceiling, his fiancé's room directly above his, and he heard footsteps, knowing she, like himself, was making the final preparations for their nuptials.

Sheldon sighed, feeling more happy than nervous, remembering leaving Rosemary Fox, his true love, in the wee hours of the morning. He'd been chased from her room wearing only his underwear by his future sister-in-law Lillian, who yelled at them both about some ridiculous wedding superstition about the groom not seeing the bride before the ceremony. Complete malarkey. Sheldon pointed out that Rosemary was not wearing her dress; in fact, she wasn't wearing anything but a sheet off the bed, to which Rosemary, blushing with embarrassment and laughing at the same time, said Lil had a point and he should go, scoffing at her sister that they were just cuddling. Sheldon confirmed that this was in fact the case, as they'd finished with coitus an hour prior.

The fragrant forest air wafted into the room, the morning warm and pleasant. Washington state saw a rather mild spring and currently experienced a hot summer, but weather in the forests near Mt. St. Helens, the location of the bed and breakfast, and thus the Fox-Cooper wedding, remained mild and sunny.

Sheldon reached into the inside pocket of his tuxedo and pulled out the paper on which he'd written his vows to Rosemary. He knew them by heart, but also knew having a backup in case he got nervous, as often happened in front of a group, was a good idea. He'd completely forgotten his speech when he asked her to marry him, so he didn't want to forget this time, not with everyone watching.

A knock sounded at the door.

"Come in," he said.

Erik Koster, Amy's husband and the Fox-Cooper wedding photographer, stuck his head in the room.

"Hey Sheldon," he said, slipping into the room and closing the door quietly. "Was just up taking pictures of Rosemary getting ready. Wanted to get a couple of shots of you."

Sheldon nodded, remembering the schedule he and Rosemary made with Erik two weeks ago.

"How is Rosemary?" he asked.

"She looked beautiful, Sheldon. And she's so happy," beamed Erik, snapping a few pictures of Sheldon straightening his bowtie.

"Naturally. Rosemary is the most beautiful woman in the world. Even Helen of Troy would shy in comparison," Sheldon said, then panicked. "Wait! Don't tell her that! That's in my vows! I wanted to put in some historical references, with her as a historian, and…and…"

"Sheldon, I'm not heading back up there before the ceremony, and I wouldn't say anything anyway," Erik assured him, looking at some of his recent shots on the camera. "But that is a great line."

Sheldon strained a bit to look at the screen on the camera. "Do you have pictures of Rosemary?"

Erik looked up with an amused expression. "Yeah, but you're not looking. Bad luck."

Sheldon rolled his eyes. "Those superstitions are ridiculous."

"I heard you got in a bit of trouble sneaking up to see the bride early this morning," Erik said slyly.

"Does Lillian have to be such a blabbermouth?" lamented Sheldon. "She's worse than Penny sometimes.

Erik just shrugged and posed Sheldon for a couple more pictures, cringing every now and then.

"Sheldon, why don't you think of koalas…or better yet, Rosemary," Erik encouraged. "You solved that problem when we shot the engagement photos."

Sheldon nodded, remembering that day well.

 _February 2017_

Erik drove his Mustang north on Interstate 5, heading to Tacoma for the night before going to the coast to visit his family in Ilwaco for another three days. Amy Fowler-Koster, his wife, sat beside him, both singing to his Disney playlist. He stole a glance at her, feeling a wave of love surge in his heart. His wife and mother of his child, as she was almost three months pregnant, Amy practically glowed. They'd shared so much in the nearly two years they'd been together, and he couldn't wait for what the next year would bring as their child entered the world.

"Do you have any other ideas for photos?" asked Amy, turning down the music.

"Well, just the boat. Jeremy said to meet us at the port at one," Erik glanced at the clock, showing noon. "We're almost there. Sheldon and Rosemary are supposed to be at the port."

For their engagement photos, Erik suggested Rosemary and Sheldon find places around town they knew and loved. They made a list, including the museum where she worked, the comic book shop, and the Puget Sound itself. Jeremy, a high school buddy of Erik's, owned and operated a small fleet of sightseeing boats that gave tours of the Sound out of Tacoma and Seattle. Erik arranged a two hour jaunt around the Sound to get some photos of the couple.

Amy sighed. "I can't believe Sheldon moved all the way up here from Pasadena, away from everyone."

"Well, the way you guys describe Sheldon from before is not the Sheldon I know," said Erik, remembering being slightly weary of the physicist when he first met Amy, her having had some sort of relationship agreement with him.

"I think breaking up with him is the best thing I ever did…for both of us," Amy said, staring out the window.

"I won't argue with that," Erik laughed.

"And I think getting away from the group…well, everyone always gave into him," Amy continued.

"Rosemary doesn't seem to take his shit," Erik chuckled, then stopped, remembering Amy did date Sheldon, did put up with his shit. But Amy nodded.

"Yeah, I coddled him too much. We all did," she said. "And Rosemary likes a lot of the things he does, that nerd stuff. Other than being awkward and our work, we didn't share any interests." She stopped and shook her head. "I remember being continually reminded how boring my interests are. But us…" She leaned over and kissed Erik's cheek. "Well, we have our westerns and memories of Gabon and great sex…"

"One of my favorite interests."

"And books and monkeys and Disney and…"

"Cars."

"No, still just you," Amy giggled. "But I have been enjoying sports more."

"And I medieval literature," Erik added.

"You just like the Miller's Tale in _The Canterbury Tales_ ," she laughed.

"It's dirty," Erik said. "Good stuff." He paused, bringing his right hand over to rest on her stomach. "And soon we'll have another mutual interest, keeping us up at night, dwindling our savings for their future college expenses."

"Tiny little socks," Amy said whimsically.

"Little laces on itty bitty Nikes," Erik added softly.

The couple laughed as they pulled into Tacoma.

Arriving and parking at the port, Erik and Amy spotted Sheldon and Rosemary standing on one of the docks, looking at some of the larger ships. Both wore jeans and flannels, the February air cold but clear. The duo looked very Pacific Northwest, making Erik grin. Rosemary did a good job with Sheldon.

"Hey guys," shouted Erik, getting their attention.

Sheldon and Rosemary hurried over, Rosemary wrapping her arms around both Erik and Amy, looking happy and excited. Sheldon went for a handshake greeting, although Amy pulled him forward for an embrace.

"It's after one now, so we better go meet Jeremy," Erik said, glancing around and spotting the dock number his friend indicated. He turned to Amy. "Meet you at the Starbucks we saw driving in?"

She kissed him sweetly, making Erik want to linger a bit longer, hold her in the crisp, chilly weather.

"See you, honey," she said, turning toward the coffee shop.

"You're not coming?" asked Sheldon.

"I've been getting bad nausea lately," Amy said. "Got sick twice on the way up here. Motion sick."

"But of course I was prepared with bags," Erik said, pulling Amy to him. "My poor wife."

"He's just grateful I didn't get any on the Mustang," she laughed. "I'd like to come, but a boat would be a bad idea."

"Will you be fine for dinner with us tonight?" asked Rosemary. "Sheldon requested I make you my chili and fry bread."

"Sounds perfect," smiled Amy, who said her good-byes and drifted away, out of the port.

Soon, Erik had Rosemary and Sheldon on Jeremy's boat, photographing them with water and islands in the background. The grey skies provided the perfect lighting. The couple wore outfits bringing out their natural coloring, no doubt Rosemary's doing. And Rosemary's long, loose black shining hair provided an excellent action element for many shots.

But Sheldon's smile. What the hell, thought Erik.

As he was snapping some pictures of the couple standing with a beautiful forested island behind them, Erik finally lowered his camera.

"Sheldon, what is up with that weird smile?" he asked.

"This is how I smile," he argued.

"No, I've seen you smile," Erik said. "The look you are giving me is like Ronald McDonald on crack." Erik thought for a moment, remembering Amy's story about Sheldon needing to think about koalas. Such a strange dude. "Why don't you think about koalas?"

Sheldon furrowed his brow, looking angry. "Has Amy been saying…" but he stopped when Rosemary whispered something in his ear, causing a wide grin to spread across his face. A real smile. Erik reacted quickly, as he had to do many times with animals in the wild, getting a couple of great shots.

"Erik!" yelled Jeremy from the boat's second level. "Orcas! Starboard!"

"Holy shit," he cried, grabbing Sheldon's arm, who in turn grabbed Rosemary, and they dashed around the boat.

"It's unsafe to run across the deck of a ship," Sheldon said, sounding a bit panicked.

A pod of orcas played in the Sound, the majestic animals occasionally leaping out of the water. Perfect, thought Erik, taking a few pictures, then looking up.

"It would be better on the upper deck," he said, pointing them toward the stairs. Rosemary went forward without hesitation, her brown eyes gleaming with excitement, but Sheldon held back.

"Won't things be a bit rough up…" he began.

"Come on, baby boy," shouted Rosemary, already up top. "I cannot believe our luck!"

Erik couldn't either, wishing Amy could be here to see the killer whales. He scrambled up the stairs.

He stood alongside Rosemary, watching the orcas, about ten of them, swimming together. Rosemary had her hand on her heart, smiling broadly, staring at them, and Erik snapped a few shots without her noticing. Turning around, he saw Sheldon still below.

"Sheldon, come on!" he yelled. "Wild animals are unpredictable. We don't know how long…"

"Yes, they are unpredictable. And so is the sea and…" he yelled back up at them, but Rosemary ran to the stairs.

"Sheldon, get up here now or I will not wear those red boots under my wedding dress," she hissed down at him.

Puzzled, Erik saw her comment seemed to work. Sheldon didn't hesitate in walking up the stairs. Those must be some red boots.

After succeeding in getting the terrified expression off Sheldon's face, Erik got several excellent shots of couple with the whales in the background. By that time, Jeremy turned the boat around and headed back to Tacoma.

Amy put down her phone after talking with Jill Henderson, her friend and fellow primate researcher, who she worked with on her recent study in Gabon. Marveling how a ten minute conversation could change your life, Amy now had a lot to think about, and she wished her and Erik were home in their comfortable apartment, Honeybee curled up on the couch next to them, so they could discuss this incredible opportunity.

Looking at the clock to see she'd need to meet them in five minutes, she put her tablet, extra scone, and phone back in her bag, grabbed her half-drunk decaf black tea, and began to walk back to the port.

Amy sat on the bench near the dock, watching their boat come in, the trio finally disembarking. Erik walked behind the couple, who held hands, and gave Amy a thumbs up. She smiled, having no doubt Erik got some amazing photos. He always did.

"How about we go to the ice cream parlor near the comic shop. My treat," said Rosemary, pulling out her phone and frowning. "But I need to return this call from Senator Ludgate first. We have an important meeting over the salmon conservation bill this week. Excuse me."

Rosemary walked away, talking in a businesslike tone.

"How is Rosemary doing as a senator?" Amy asked.

"Excellent," said Sheldon, watching Rosemary pace around as she talked. "She's drafting an education reform bill, and she has gained supporters in the state house. Of course, her running was all my idea in the first place."

Amy just laughed and rolled her eyes. Erik pulled her into an embrace, kissing her nose.

"Missed you, babe," he said, then noticeably shivered. Reaching into his pockets, he frowned. "Left my gloves at Jeremy's helm. Be right back." He turned and jogged back to the boat.

Amy turned to Sheldon, who had taken a seat on a nearby bench to wait. Amy joined him, and both sat in silence.

Turning to study Sheldon, Amy realized how much he truly changed, all for the better. She hadn't given Sheldon much thought over the past few months, busy with her life, work, husband, and now the baby. But looking at Sheldon, slight stubble on his chin, gazing at the distant Rosemary, gave her pause, and she felt happy to see him adjusted, independent, not Leonard and Penny's overgrown child.

Amy snapped out of her thoughts to see Erik chatting with Jeremy on the boat, wondering how long she'd been sitting, unspeaking, next to Sheldon, knowing this occurred several times when they'd gone out. Strangely, it now felt a bit uncomfortable.

"So, did you ever end up watching _The Flash_?" she asked.

Sheldon looked at her, surprised. "No."

"It's actually pretty good," said Amy. "Khalid, one of the guys in our Gabon study, brought the DVDs of seasons one and two and we'd all watch an episode every night."

"Rosemary and I just began watching _House of Cards_ ," Sheldon said. "I think it will provide good material for future use in case Rosemary ever made a run for the White House."

Amy just smiled and nodded. Sheldon definitely needed someone like Rosemary, a mover and a shaker, not someone to wait around and cater to Sheldon, as Amy had done, embarrassingly when she'd been with him. Everything turned out much better, for both of them.

Later on, the two couples sat in Sheldon and Rosemary's favorite ice cream parlor, enjoying a treat before finishing the photo shoot at the comic shop and her museum. Sheldon remained quiet, as Rosemary, Erik, and Amy engaged in a lively conversation about Rosemary's work in the senate, his fiancé sharing stories about the interesting people she worked with in government. Sheldon took the opportunity to consider the next week, with a basketball game, late night meeting, and Rosemary busy in Olympia. Plus, he wanted to get his new web series started. Sheldon's brain swam with plans, but he came out of his thoughts when Rosemary's lovely laugh rang out.

"Yes, it certainly is a sideshow sometimes," she said. "And I've only been there a month." She took a bite of her cookies and cream ice cream and smiled at Amy. "So, have you had any weird cravings yet."

Amy shook her head. "No, not yet."

"Ha!" scoffed Erik. "I only work at Disney twice a week now, but she texts me on those days, asking me to pick up several of those Mickey Mouse lollipops." He laughed. "She never wanted them before, said they were gross, but now…"

Amy laughed with him. "I suppose that could be a craving. They are just so good. We'll need to name our child Mickey."

"Are you going to find out the sex?" Rosemary asked.

"Oh no," said Amy. "We want to be surprised." Her face then got serious and she turned to Erik. "Speaking of surprises, I returned the call we got from Jill."

"Oh?" he asked.

" _National Geographic_ wants to fully fund other chimpanzee studies, two going on simultaneously in Gabon and Tanzania. They want Jill to lead the group in Tanzania," she paused, taking a deep breath. "And me to head the study in Gabon."

Erik practically leaped out of his seat. "Amy!" he cried. "I'm…I'm so proud of you." He turned to Sheldon and Rosemary, pointing to Amy. "Isn't she brilliant?"

But Sheldon could tell by the way Amy bit her lip that wasn't all.

"Both studies are longitudinal, taking place over five years, beginning next January," she said.

Sheldon saw Erik's mouth fall open, and he looked to see Rosemary with a concerned expression as well.

"What about the baby?" Erik asked.

"Jill knows, of course," Amy said, then turned to Rosemary and Sheldon. "She sent us a plush kangaroo last week." She then looked at Erik. "But _National Geographic_ has that estate not far from the national park, and they're building more bungalows, promising a small house to us, even a nanny if we choose. And Honeybee can come, after we follow quarantine procedures." She started to talk fast, Sheldon sensing her excitement. "And…and you can work on your filmmaking. You said you wanted to do something about the return of the lions and…" Amy stopped.

Sheldon leaned in to hear more, Erik with a pensive look, Amy studying her husband. An intriguing conversation, worthy of those political dramas he was finding increasingly more entertaining. But he was suddenly pulled to his feet by Rosemary.

"Hey, Sheldon and I are going ahead to the comic book shop," she said. "See you in a couple of minutes."

And with that, Sheldon was whisked outside and down the street.

"Rosemary, things were getting interesting," he whined as they walked up the block. A light sprinkling of rain began to fall.

"They needed to be alone," she said, pulling the hood of her raincoat over her black sheet of hair. "That was a private conversation."

"Hmmm…" said Sheldon. "What would you want to do?"

Rosemary shrugged. "I don't know. Sounds amazing but, well, I'm not terribly interested in living in the middle of the jungle. The state senate is wild enough for me."

Sheldon put his arm around her and guided her into the shop, and the duo began browsing through the boxes of old comics near the front window. About five minutes passed before Erik and Amy joined them.

"What did you decide?" Sheldon immediately asked.

Amy laughed. "Nothing yet. We have a lot to discuss." She took Erik's hand. "Good topic for beach walks over the next few days."

Erik kissed the top of Amy's head and smiled. "We'll make sure you're the first to know, Sheldon," he said.

Sheldon sensed sarcasm in his voice, but Erik was always so subtle with it, he couldn't be sure.

"With this added to the baby and Raj's wedding and your wedding and the film premiering in August, it's going to be a busy couple of months," said Amy, fiddling with the stack of comics Sheldon placed out for purchase.

"Indeed," said Erik, then laughed and shrugged. "In the meantime, let's take some pictures, love birds."

Amy's comment about being busy could have applied to Rosemary and Sheldon's lives the following week. The couple barely saw one another, much to Sheldon's dismay. Rosemary worked late Monday at the museum, helping set up a new display, missing Sheldon's basketball game, and Tuesday Sheldon had a conference call with SpaceX colleagues in Singapore, needing to stay at work until 10 p.m. Wednesday, the bright-looking spot in the week, the couple both home by 5 p.m. brought a babysitting job for both him and Rosemary. An emergency at the port caused their neighbor Doug to work into the evening, and he called Sheldon in a panic, asking him to watch the girls, make sure they had dinner. Rosemary, Sheldon, Ivy, and Jasmine ate quickly before engaging in a Super Smash Brothers tournament lasting into the evening. That night, Sheldon and Rosemary fell immediately to sleep, Sheldon dreaming of video game tournaments with his own children.

Thursday Rosemary did not arrive home from Olympia, the Washington State capital, until late, exhausted from a day of talks on the salmon conservation bill. But now Friday was upon them, the weekend all theirs, and Sheldon sat at 8 p.m. playing video games with Leonard, Howard, and Raj, waiting for Rosemary to come home for an episode of _Doctor Who_ followed by coitus.

"Everything is ready for the wedding, both my parents secured plane tickets," Raj told the group. "Flying separately of course but, well, I suppose I need to get used to that."

"Laura's parents still happy?" asked Howard.

"Oh yeah, and they seem to really like me," Raj said.

Sheldon's phone rang, and he excused himself from the group, removed his head set, and answered a bit apprehensively, seeing the call from Rosemary.

"Sheldon," came her voice, sounding strained. "Listen, I won't be home tonight. We need to come to a decision and some of the senators are not budging, so we're having a special session this weekend. They're putting me up in a hotel by the capital."

"But…Rosemary," Sheldon stammered. He'd counted on seeing Rosemary that evening, used the thought of her sitting next to him eating popcorn and commenting on the episode, the image of her naked body against his, to get him through the day. To have the actualization of those images suddenly snatched away seemed cruel. Then a thought occurred to him. "You don't have your toiletries, a change of clothes."

"I've actually kept a small bag in my car since starting in the senate," she said. "Chuck recommended it."

"But…but…you're only 30 miles away," he said. "Come home. Please, kitten."

Rosemary sighed. "I want to, but I need to go back in. I just stepped out of the session to call you. We're wrapping at eleven for the night and restarting at seven tomorrow morning." She sounded tired, but then her voice shifted to excitement. "One of the senators from the east tried to filibuster today. Was up there for three hours straight. It was, well, actually really cool. I've never seen that before."

"I miss you," he said, knowing he was being selfish, whining and all. He really was trying to work on that. But damn, he hadn't seen his Rosemary except in passing all week, and he already had coitus set in his brain.

"Call me at 11:45, okay?" she said quickly. "Gotta go back. I love you."

Then she was gone. Sheldon hung up and stared at the carpet. Then he realized he was still logged on with his friends, so he put on his headset and continued to play, silently listening to them talk about Raj's nuptials. After logging off at ten, Sheldon paced around the house before ending up in the kitchen, rearranging all the glasses and mugs in their cupboard by size.

Finally, at 11:15, Sheldon couldn't stand the quiet, the lack of Rosemary. Settling on a plan, he dashed upstairs.

Rosemary heard a distant clock strike midnight and looked up from her laptop, startled. She hadn't realized that much time passed. Even odder, Sheldon failed to call her at exactly 11:45. Then she smiled, imagining him on the sofa in front of the television, dozing away as _Doctor Who_ played. She teased him when he did this before, telling him he was getting old, falling asleep in front of the television, and he retorted he needed to wake her up at least twice a week, having fallen asleep in front of the tv or her computer. Like so many things, Sheldon was correct.

Yawning, Rosemary felt exhausted but also exhilarated. While she did miss Sheldon, her week at the senate was everything she dreamed of, with the arguments over the salmon conservation bill. Rosemary first found herself on the sidelines of the debate, as the newbie, but quickly dived in, speaking about native rights as well as the ecology of the precious waterways of the state. By Friday morning, she realized she'd become one of the leading voices for the passing of the bill, being interviewed by three news outlets during her morning coffee break.

But the bill needed to pass this weekend, and her schedule would be a bit better the next week. She and Sheldon could continue wedding plans, perhaps talking with Sally at the bed and breakfast about food options. Thinking about turning in, she began to shut down her computer when her cell rang. Sheldon.

"Hi sweet man," she said brightly. "Fall asleep?"

"Rosemary, you are at the Holiday Inn on Second, correct?" came his formal tone without further introduction.

"Um…yes."

"What is your room number?"

"326."

"Thank you." And he was gone.

Rosemary shook her head. She loved Sheldon dearly, remembered falling for him hard over the Thanksgiving weekend they spent at Mt. St. Helens. His intelligence, awkward quirks, loving, dedicated heart. She couldn't wait to become his wife.

A knock at the door startled her, and she approached with caution, looking through the peephole.

Sheldon!

Rosemary opened the door, a huge smile spreading across her face.

"Sheldon, you came down here! Oh, you wonderful…" but she never finished. Sheldon lunged into the room, threw his bag aside, grabbed her around the waist, and slammed the door, all simultaneously.

Overwhelmed by the sudden appearance of her fiancé, and one ready for action at that, Rosemary pulled away from his deep kiss as his hands slipped under the hem of her pajama pants to grasp her rear.

"Honey, you didn't need to come all the way here. I would have been back tomorrow afternoon, and we…" Rosemary lost her words as Sheldon sucked aggressively on her neck, one of his large hands sliding up her old university sweatshirt to grab her breast.

"No waiting," gasped Sheldon. "Too horny."

Rosemary giggled at him using the word horny, and she grabbed him by his jacket, leading him into the room, and began undressing him, unzipping his raincoat, pulling his shirts off over his head. He ripped her shirt off and pressed them together with his arms, Rosemary loving the feeling of their bare chests together.

"Oh Sheldon, you feel so good," she sighed. "Thank you for…"

But his mouth was back on hers, his hands working on sliding her pants down. He quickly kissed down her body as he did this, pausing when his face came in line with her panties. He pulled them down, kissing the top of her small patch of hair, the sight and feeling of him making her swoon slightly. This was an unexpected treat.

Sheldon stopped his movements and looked around her at the bed. "Would you like to clear the bed, Rosemary? Your tablet and several files are there, and in throwing you on it for some rather rough coitus, I would prefer your work not to be damaged."

Nodding and smiling, Rosemary turned and quickly moved things to the desk, spinning around to find a completely naked Sheldon standing at full attention, ready to go. Rosemary returned to stand in front of him, grabbing him around the neck and kissing him hard, standing on one foot to wrap a leg around him. Sheldon pulled up her other leg, supporting her completely, and fell with her onto the bed, working his way into her quickly with a grunt. Rosemary let out a deep, guttural groan. God, she did really need this.

"Oh kitten," he moaned into her ear as he thrust hard, the friction bringing her close to her peak. "I missed you so much. Your hair." He over his hands through her now thoroughly messed up hair. "Your laugh." He ran his fingers up her ribs, knowing her ticklish spot, making her giggle and then gasp as he pushed into her harder. "Your breasts." The fingers of his other hand pinched her nipples hard, starting to send her over the edge. "Your…tight…wet…oh, good Lord!" He cried out, Rosemary feeling him release into her, the stiffness rubbing her sensitive area, causing her to climax then as well.

They were loud about it, gasping and laughing with each thrust until Sheldon pulled out and fell beside her with a deep, satisfied sigh.

After a while of just breathing, lying shoulder to shoulder, Rosemary giggled. "I didn't know how much I needed that."

"Can I please stay the night?" Sheldon said. "I feel sleepy now, and I just want to hold you. I brought by pajamas, but I realize that I might be making some assumptions and I want to follow etiquette."

"You are my fiancé, not some booty call," Rosemary laughed. "But I think I will call on your booty again. It's a cute one."

"Booty call?" asked Sheldon, raising his eyebrow at her.

Jumping up, Rosemary put her clothes back on before shutting down her computer and turning in, exhausted, excited, and satisfied, now with her tall, warm, and horny physicist by her side.

The next morning, Sheldon awoke to find Rosemary completely dressed, finishing a cup of coffee, and packing her bag. He sat up with a start, thinking he slept late, but she put her hand on his shoulder and kissed him sweetly on the lips.

"Early morning for me," she said. "But you can check out when you're ready and…" A ding came from her laptop, seeming to be the last item she packed. "Oh, that might be the e-mail I'm waiting for from Senator Ludgate." She walked over, the screen lighting up her face. "Oh! It's from Erik! Some of our photos!"

She brought the laptop over and sat next to Sheldon, who was trying to pat his obnoxious morning hair down.

The first two photos were beautiful, the couple on the ship, the orcas behind them, Erik manipulating the colors slightly to bring out their faces.

"He says he'll send us all 200 photos…200!" read Rosemary. "But wanted us to have a preview."

"Open that one," said Sheldon, pointing to the file named "MyFavorite."

Both Sheldon and Rosemary gasped. The photo, taken from the outside of the comic shop through the front window, showed Sheldon and Rosemary at the comic book bins. Erik had faded the edges of the photo, bringing the eye to the couple, who looked at each other, Rosemary seeming to be in mid-sentence, Sheldon smiling down at her. Sheldon couldn't take his eyes off the image. They looked so perfect – that was him and Rosemary, in their natural habitat. Is this how the world saw him and his love?

"That's…that's us, Sheldon," Rosemary whispered. "He must have taken this when they returned to us from the ice cream parlor." A soft smile graced across her lips. "Sneaky."

Sheldon nodded and found himself looking, transfixed, at the photo, now the wallpaper on his phone, long after Rosemary slipped away.

Now on his wedding day, Sheldon said goodbye as Erik moved out the door, the ceremony 20 minutes away.

"Wait!" he cried, and Erik stopped.

Sheldon grabbed a pad of paper from the nightstand as well as a pen and scribbled a note, neatly folded it, and wrote "Rosemary" on the outside.

"Would you give this to her?" he asked, handing the note to Erik.

"Of course, man," he laughed. "Feel like I'm back in middle school, passing notes."

Erik left, leaving Sheldon once again alone to study himself in the mirror.

 _ **Author's Note: Welcome to my new story, which follows Sheldon and Rosemary throughout their engagement. While this tale is more episodic and a bit shorter than my previous stories, as always I promise romance (often M rated), adventure, humor, and a bit of angst. Updates will be irregular, as I am currently working on a longer Star Wars fic (please read!).**_

 _ **In the next chapter, Sheldon begins production on a new web series, experiencing creative differences with his co-host, mathematician Carson Silverthorne.**_

 _ **Special thanks to SwarklesFan55 for sharing the idea of orcas with me months ago. You are awesome!**_

 _ **Please follow/favorite/review. Take care, everyone!**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

 **The Web Series Usurpation**

Rosemary Fox put on the last piece to her wedding ensemble, a pair of pearl earrings that belonged to her late grandmother. She stood up from the bed, and straightened her dress over the bright red, knee high boots she wore. Her sister Lillian scoffed.

"I can't believe you are actually going to wear those with that dress. It's a medieval cut, Rose, for God's sake, and you're wearing boots that look like they belong on a superhero," she said.

"Exactly," Rosemary said, smiling. "Sheldon's request. They're his favorite."

Lillian rolled her eyes. "I don't want to know what kind of kinky shit you and Sheldon are into. At least you can't see them."

A knock sounded at the door. Lillian answered, and Erik walked into the room.

"More photos?" asked Rosemary. "My mom already went downstairs."

"Nope. Just a note from the groom," Erik said, bowing a little as he handed her the letter. She saw her name, written in Sheldon's hand, on the outside. "And I'm off. Best wishes, Rosemary."

Erik disappeared downstairs, and Rosemary found her sister glaring at her.

"It's bad luck for…"

"Oh shut up," Rosemary laughed and unfolded the note.

 _Rosemary,_

 _I apologize for my hasty exit from your boudoir early this morning. Your tyrant of a sister seems to believe all that superstitious mumbo jumbo, and I feel I did not give you a proper good-bye. I promise to make up for it this evening as we consummate our marriage. Additionally, I wanted to assure you I am wearing the special item you requested for our nuptials. I find your taste exceptional, as they are quite comfortable. I love you._

 _Your Husband in Less Than Twenty Minutes,_

 _Sheldon_

Rosemary grinned widely and blushed deeply as she read his note through five times, thinking about when she bought Sheldon that "special item."

 _March 2017_

Emerald City Comic Con came a month earlier than the previous year, and due to both Sheldon and Rosemary's busy schedules, they could only attend one day, this time with Lillian and Yoshi in tow. Several debates went through the group as to an appropriate costume ensemble, and they finally settled on the Ninja Turtles, all being children of the eighties, Lil and Yoshi the later part of the decade. A simple costume, they purchased green sweat suits and during the Christmas holidays used fabric paint to put on shells. Rosemary purchased green Vans for both her and Sheldon, seeing her sister and brother-in-law didn't seem to care and wore their usual outdoor boots. Still, Rosemary felt happy as they slipped their masks on before entering the con, all having selected a turtle to match their personality. Not going for green make-up, Rosemary knew their costumes were certainly not as elaborate as her and Sheldon's second-place win the previous year, or even comparing to those they wore for their occasional bedroom role play. But she was certainly comfortable.

"So Rosemary…ahh…Leonardo," said Sheldon, beaming at her from behind his purple mask as they entered the main exhibit hall. "Where shall we go first?"

"Raphael and I," said Yoshi in his orange mask, gesturing to Lillian in red. "Want to go to the 3-D photo booth."

"Ooohhh…that sounds cool," Rosemary said, looking up at Sheldon, then frowning. "But I would rather have a figure of us in regular clothes. Or even in our wedding attire."

"What wedding attire?" asked Lillian, leafing through an artist's portfolio at nearby table. "We need to get that wedding dress."

"Mom's coming in two weeks, so we can go then," Rosemary said. "I kind of know what I want already."

"I'm sure you already have the shoes planned," laughed Yoshi.

Rosemary shared a covert look with Sheldon, who reddened slightly in that adorable way of his. He'd made the request for the boots after their third time playing The Adventures of Wonder Woman and Dr. Cooper.

The couples spent most of the day separate, having different interests, but went to a few panels and stood in some celebrity lines together. Later in the afternoon, Sheldon and Rosemary walked down the large Seattle streets toward the Pike Street Market to pick up some spring flowers for their townhome in Tacoma, Rosemary knowing Sheldon enjoyed the market a lot, remembering when she first brought him nearly a year ago.

"I'm glad Yoshi and Lillian will be spending the night with us this evening," said Sheldon, holding Rosemary's hand, looking cuddly in his turtle sweat suit. "I can do the interview for my new web series Fun with Gemstones. They already agreed."

Rosemary smiled. He'd been talking off and on about his new web show about gemstones, having picked up the interest in designing her engagement ring. He'd persuaded his co-worker and friend, mathematician Carson Silverthorne, to co-host. They finally seemed to be ready to film their first episode, an introduction to gemstones, this week, using geologists Lillian and Yoshi as their first guests.

Having seen a bit of Fun with Flags and enjoying it in an ironic hipster way, as she occasionally embraced as a Pacific Northwesterner, she hoped this new web series would be a bit better quality. In fact, she knew it would, as Carson held an interest, and a degree, in film and filmmaking.

Her reflection on Fun with Gemstones disappeared as they passed by an adult entertainment shop, a male mannequin out front wearing an elaborate pair of silky briefs. She stopped and looked, imagining Sheldon in them. Hmmmm…

Pulling him inside the shop, not caring they were dressed as Ninja Turtles, she looked around for the men's section. The shop nearly empty of customers, the woman behind the counter glanced up and smiled.

"Comic con?" she laughed.

"Yup," grinned Rosemary, pulling Sheldon toward the erotic menswear.

"Rosemary, this is…um…" she turned to find Sheldon a deep red. "This is an inappropriate…"

"Oh, I like these better," she found a simple pair of bright red silk briefs on a small rack and pulled them out for Sheldon. "I want to see you in these."

"I've always worn just my white cotton briefs and those have been good enough," he said haughtily.

"I wear silky, lacy things for you all the time," she argued, putting the briefs up to Sheldon's pelvis, and turning her head to the side as if visualizing him. "Your turn."

She knew Sheldon could not argue with that logic, but he did look uncomfortable.

"Okay, for the wedding," she continued and looked over at the women's section. "And…pick out something for me. For our wedding night."

Sheldon walked over and studied the wall of negligees, Rosemary giggling how carefully he concentrated. She looked over at a display of accessories and smiled, grabbing a couple of items. He finally walked over with a white, completely sheer baby doll nightie.

"This," he said.

"Why bother?" she laughed. "You can see everything."

"Exactly," he said, giving her a devilish grin, then he looked at her hand. "Um…blind folds? And are those fuzzy handcuffs?"

Rosemary just laughed, grabbed the nightie, and made their purchases. Without further word of sexual adventures, they continued to the market.

That evening, Sheldon set up his dry erase board behind their sofa, featuring the words "Sheldon Cooper presents Fun with Gemstones." Rosemary, not participating in the film, grabbed her laptop and settled into the kitchen to work on her education bill, pouring over standardized testing data, arguing against its value.

Grabbing files and her tablet as well, she studied Sheldon as he set up the camera, Lillian and Yoshi already sitting on the couch, looking amused.

"Um…Sheldon, isn't Carson helping as well? Should you really call it Sheldon Cooper presents?" she asked.

"Rosemary," he said in his slightly condescending tone. "Sheldon Cooper presents is now a recognizable brand."

"A brand?" Rosemary said, not able to keep the laugh out of her voice.

"Yeah bro, I don't know how recognizable the Sheldon Cooper presents brand is," Yoshi laughed. "Your most popular video in the flag series has only 100 views."

Sheldon's eyes narrowed, and Rosemary gave her bother-in-law a warning look before heading into the kitchen, deciding not to argue the point. Sheldon could take it up with Carson later this week, the young man with his girlfriend Olivia in Idaho, visiting his grandmother for the weekend.

Rosemary slipped into the work of writing her bill, studying the data, texting senior senator Don Meagle occasionally for advice, reworking her rhetoric. After quite some time, raised voices from the living room brought her out of concentration.

"Seriously, what the hell? If you already know so damn much, why do you need us as guests? You keep interrupting immediately after asking the question," said Lilian angrily. She stormed into the kitchen and stood before her sister. "I'm done with this. Let's go get some drinks and…"

"No!" Sheldon cried. He ran into the kitchen. "I want to remedy a criticism Rosemary had of Fun with Flags."

Rosemary looked at her fiancé, puzzled, trying to remember what she said.

"She said my guests were not of value. I chose celebrities and friends rather than those with knowledge on the subject," Sheldon said. "And you and Yoshi are geologists…and…"

"Then let us talk!" Lillian said. "I'm going to be a doctor this summer, Sheldon. Trust me, I'm an expert."

"Me too," called Yoshi from the living room. He didn't look too concerned, having just turned on the Playstation.

"I'm…sorry," said Sheldon with hesitation, Rosemary knowing he'd complain later. Somehow, Lillian always got to him, perhaps because she'd been threatening him with physical harm since he got together with her sister. Still, Sheldon insulting Lillian on her blog in the first place was how Rosemary eventually met him, so she couldn't complain about their continued arguments. They seemed to both enjoy the bickering and snide remarks. Rosemary looked forward to seeing how their relationship would blossom in the next several years…decades even.

The trio resumed taping, and Rosemary continued her work, pausing from time to time to listen, wondering how Sheldon's new hobby would turn out.

Later that week, Sheldon and Rosemary sat at the dining room table of Carson and Olivia, the younger couple talking about their visit to Boise and Olivia's impending start of grad school. Conversation finally came to Fun with Gemstones, and Sheldon couldn't wait to tell Carson all his ideas.

"I got the interview with the geologists already," he said between bites of take-out Chinese food. "And with no more basketball, we can create a regular film schedule and…"

"Fun with Gemstones?" asked Olivia. "That's a bit…boring, don't you think." She paused, then laughed. "How about Gents and Gemstones."

Carson's usually expressionless face lit up, as often happened around Olivia. "Yes! We can use opening music like Masterpiece Theatre."

"And you both wear suits and sit on leather armchairs," giggled Rosemary.

"And sip bourbon, occasionally swirling the drink in your pristine glass tumblers," finished Olivia. Then she almost jumped up with excitement. "We can get you both deep red smoking jackets and cigars. Just have them lit near you. You'll look all sophisticated. My father had a smoking jacket when he went to…" She stopped suddenly, the excitement gone, and studied her food.

Silence fell, Sheldon knowing the reason. Olivia, in running away from New York to be with Carson, left against her father's wishes. The CEO and owner of Eagleton Financial, Olivia's father disapproved greatly of this and officially disowned her the previous month. Sheldon, having met the man and seeing the large argument between him and Carson first hand, did not find this to be a big loss, as Eagleton appeared most unpleasant. Still, he knew from lunch conversations with Carson that losing her family hurt Olivia immensely. He planned to propose, but news of the abandonment put a shadow over them, and he now waited for a better time, the ring hidden at Sheldon and Rosemary's.

Rosemary broke the silence first. "Both Carson and Sheldon have nice suits, and we have that leather sofa. I think both will work."

Sheldon locked eyes with Rosemary across the table and smiled. While he still floundered in social situations, Rosemary always knew when to speak and what to say to make things less awkward.

The next evening, Olivia and Carson came over to the Cooper-Fox residence, the couple bringing in several bags from the trunk of Olivia's car, Carson's motorcycle left at home. Carson, already wearing a nice black suit that made his blonde hair look nearly white, pulled out his camera equipment, shaming Sheldon's, as well as a green screen. He moved aside Sheldon's white board without asking, and set up the screen behind the couch.

"I'm going to add a library to the background," he said matter-of factly.

"But the dry erase board is part of the Sheldon Cooper presents branding," Sheldon argued.

Carson raised an eyebrow and looked dead into Sheldon's eyes. "Please do not take offense in this, Sheldon, but I watched a few episodes of Fun with Flags and although interesting, they were of very poor quality. Ill scripted, badly paced, no true use of editing, uncreative camera work. Sheldon, medium shot is not the only shot of choice. And…"

"Excuse me but…"

"I am excited to work on this project because I enjoy film and filmmaking. In fact, I have far more education and experience with both than you. I've attended workshops run by Steven Spielberg, editing classes from Academy Award winners. And I know film criticism as well. I intend to make Gents and Gemstones quality, something people will find informative and entertaining, not in the ironic awesomely bad way you seemed to be going for with Fun with Flags, but legitimately good. Your ideas and research are flawless, Sheldon. Now let me do my work," Carson finished with deadpan finality.

Sheldon found no words, and glanced for help from Rosemary. But the women retreated to the kitchen, sitting in lively conversation, coffee brewing. Sheldon turned back to Carson, seeing the camera and sound equipment, some pieces Sheldon himself didn't know how to use. He'd always controlled Fun with Flags 100%, when Amy tried to give him an idea, he shot her down and Amy always backed off. But Sheldon knew Carson, being like Sheldon himself, would not back down. And he'd seen a couple of Carson's pieces, including a recent film he did on their SpaceX campus and the work in the mathematics department. He'd even gotten a local news anchor to narrate. The video had over 90,000 hits on YouTube, Elon Musk himself sharing the link on his Twitter account.

Since moving up to Tacoma from Pasadena nearly a year ago, Sheldon had been trying to remedy some of the poor habits he developed during his time he allowed his friends to baby him, Leonard, Penny, Amy, and the rest catering to him, mothering him. He'd been working on the whining, and he knew stubbornness to be another of his least attractive traits, especially since Lillian called him a stubborn ass the previous weekend.

He looked again at Rosemary in the kitchen, knowing one of the reasons he admired her was her social tact, which despite being an introvert, she related to others well, found common ground. Looked for people's strengths. He listened to her describe her work on her bill and other issues in the state senate and knew she worked hard to negotiate. Sheldon could do this as well.

"Okay," he said to Carson. "I'll grab the bourbon."

Two hours later, they finished, and Carson packed up the equipment, taking the flash drive with the Yoshi and Lillian interview.

"I'll work on this tomorrow, post it to the YouTube account we opened, and e-mail you the link," he said as they departed, Sheldon noticing his pale face alight with excitement.

Trudging up to the bedroom, Sheldon watched Rosemary change and brush out her long, black hair, her movements calming him. He opened his mouth to complain, but stopped himself. No whining. Instead, he attempted to remove Gents and Gemstones from his mind, choosing to focus on curling up with Rosemary instead, reading comic books until they both fell asleep.

Saturday went by with their usual errands, and Sunday morning dawned. Sheldon awoke early, as usual, unable to sleep in, unlike Rosemary, who snored softly beside him. Checking his phone, he found an e-mail from Carson.

 _Finished the first episode of Gents and Gemstones. Turned out great. Make sure to share the link. Also, I contacted Rosemary's sister for some of the artwork. I think we should use her in the future as well. Cheers! C.S._

"Rosemary!" Sheldon cried, feeling his fiancé jolt awake beside him. "Gents and Gemstones is posted!"

Sitting up yawning, her hair everywhere, Rosemary said, "Okay, you get the laptop set up, I'll make some tea and coffee, and we can settle in." She slipped out of bed. "How long is it?"

Sheldon thought for a moment, not having clicked on the link yet. "We shot about an hour of footage."

Rosemary pursed her lips and nodded, and Sheldon heard her sigh heavily as she made her way downstairs.

Clicking on the link, the Cooper/Silverthorne YouTube page popped up, and Sheldon gasped. Since posting the video around midnight, mere hours ago, the first episode of Gents and Gemstones already had 500 views. Several comments praised the film, and only one of the 120 viewers who rated the video gave it a thumbs down.

Sheldon struggled not to push play, waiting for Rosemary, reading the comments instead. Mostly praise, some questions about further episodes, requests for topics. Far more engagement then Fun with Flags.

Rosemary came back to bed with two mugs, and settled back down with Sheldon.

"Hey, it's only seven and a half minutes," she said.

"What?!" Sheldon said, baffled. What had Carson done? He hit play.

Eight minutes later, Sheldon and Rosemary sat with their mouths open, staring at the screen.

"That was amazing!" cried Rosemary, finally taking a sip of her neglected coffee. "Fast-paced, humorous. And the transitions, how he used music. Just…wow! You should be very proud."

But Sheldon didn't feel proud. The premiere episode of Gents with Gemstones proved to be perfect, and somehow, Sheldon felt slighted. Carson seemed to manage to do what Sheldon attempted over and over with Fun with Flags and failed…make a high quality, informative, and entertaining web series. And he did it with minimal effort, a talent, a know-how Sheldon did not possess. A strange mix of anger and jealously seized his heart.

"That's…different than what I envisioned," he said finally.

"The opening is cool, like Masterpiece Theatre," Rosemary said. "And you two introducing yourselves in this fancy library, funny, charming. And how he did close ups of Lil and Yosh. And how instead of just showing you talking, he used you and him and my sister as voice overs for images...and her comics! This is just too cool." She scrolled down. "Look! People want more. See these comments! I'm going to share this with everyone." And with that she leaped up with her coffee and headed toward her computer in their office.

Sheldon shared the link on his social media as well, then sulked, staring out the window at the rainy day.

Penny cuddled with Leonard on their sofa, enjoying her coffee and half-watching some documentary while browsing through a fashion magazine. Sliding over and picking up her phone to text Bernadette about shopping next weekend, she saw a notification from Sheldon.

"Ugh, Sheldon just posted his new web series," she said, sitting up, Leonard pausing the television.

"Yeah, he said he would," Leonard said, grabbing his tablet. "Best to get it over with right away. Like ripping off a band aid. Just listen for some sound bites so we look like we paid attention."

"Yup," said Penny, settling back with her husband. "Wow! Seriously, 1,000 views! Who watches this crap when they don't have to?"

Leonard just shrugged and pushed play.

After the film finished, Penny looked at Leonard.

"That was good," she said.

Leonard nodded enthusiastically.

"Like really good," she continued. "I want more."

"That wasn't agonizing. Just the opposite," said Leonard. "I was actually watching, paying attention."

Penny grabbed her phone and dialed Sheldon, who answered on the third ring.

"Hey sweetie," she said. "We just watched the gemstone show, and it's so cool. Like, a thousand times better than Fun with Flags."

"I know," came his deadpan voice.

"Well, good job to you and your math friend," Penny said.

"Thank you."

Silence. No smug comments? Nothing?

"Well, good-bye."

"Bye, Penny."

And he was gone, leaving Penny puzzled. Finally she shrugged and turned to Leonard. "Let's watch it again."

Early afternoon, south of Hofstadters, Amy snuggled with a baby bonobo at the San Diego Zoo, where she spent much of her time now working with the other primatologists, finishing out the year at Caltech before becoming an employee of _National Geographic_ full time and heading to Gabon with her husband and baby next year. This particular bonobo had been injured in the enclosure, and the sleeping primate needed time to heal before rejoining the others.

Amy dawdled on her computer and smiled, seeing Sheldon posted his new web series. Clicking on the link, she watched, amazed by how far he came. The production quality was so much better than Fun with Flags, which Amy had both sentimental and frustrating memories of, mirroring her overall relationship with Sheldon. Seeing Sheldon online, she dialed him on Skype.

"Hello, Amy," he said in his formal tone. He looked to be sitting at the kitchen table, Rosemary bustling around behind him.

"Hi Amy," Rosemary called. "Too bad you and Erik aren't here. Sheldon is making a meatloaf for dinner, his Meemaw's recipe, and I'm experimenting with German chocolate cake."

"Oohh, that meatloaf recipe is good," smiled Amy. "Sheldon, Gents and Gemstones is great. You've come a long way. So much better than anything we ever put together. Nice work."

She saw his face tighten as she spoke.

"Thank you," he said coldly.

What the hell, thought Amy, then almost laughed aloud. Not my problem.

It didn't seem to be Rosemary's either, as she leaned into the screen cheerfully. "Are you holding a monkey? Oh my God, so cute."

Amy explained to the couple about the bonobo, then ended the conversation when the baby began to fuss. She wasn't sure what Sheldon's problem was, but found she didn't care, no longer the one to constantly cater to his emotional needs. She needed to focus on the bonobo. Whatever the issue, he and his friend finally produced an excellent web series premiere. One that had, as she looked back at the page, 2,000 views. She left the comment, _Can't wait for more!_

Raj and his fiancé Laura approached the door of the Wolowitz home, looking forward to having Sunday dinner with his friends. Ringing the doorbell, he leaned down to kiss Laura, but was interrupted by Bernadette pulling them in the house.

"You have to see this!" she cried, her high voice a little shrill in her excitement.

He sat on the couch with his friends, seeing YouTube on the screen, loaded to something called Gents and Gemstones.

"Oh yeah, this is Sheldon's new series," he said. "Wow! Five thousand views! And just posted today. And look, the top comment is from a geology professor at MIT asking if there will be more. He wants to use them in class."

"Yeah, and it's actually good. Not like that flag crap," said Howard. "We've watched it four times already."

"Ooohhh, let's see," cooed Laura in excitement, and the group watched.

Raj found the show to be excellent, much better than Sheldon's previous efforts.

"I'm going to text him," Raj said, pulling out his phone.

"We did that, praising the thing and all, and all he said was thank you," shrugged Howard. "Very un-Sheldon. I was expecting a long lecture on his methods."

Raj texted a short paragraph of praise to Sheldon, who simply sent a shrug emoji.

"Is the great Sheldon Cooper being modest?" asked Raj as they sat down to a sumptuous Sunday meal.

"I thought that wasn't one of his strengths," said Laura.

"It's not," said Howard. "But apparently filmmaking is now. That Rosemary is the best thing to ever happen to him." He took a bite and smiled at Raj and Laura. "So only two months until the wedding. What are my next Best Man duties?"

And just like that, the conversation shifted to Raj and Laura's wedding, Raj shocked by how fast time seemed to go.

After dinner and cleaning up, Rosemary and Sheldon stood together at the work bench in the garage, both painting. Rosemary put the finishing touches on a Native American-style mask, this one a wolf, a gift for Senator Meagle, who continued to help Rosemary with her education bill. Sheldon worked on a tiny school house for a new model train display his club would be putting together for a show in the town of Everett, north of Seattle.

The strange feeling of anger burned in him all day, but wanting to avoid complaining, the whining so many of his friends accused him of, he did not divulge his feelings to Rosemary. She did not know what a big baby he used to be, and he found himself a new man, in love with her, moving away from Caltech, from Pasadena. He liked his new self, but this feeling over the film began to eat at him. He opened his mouth to reveal this to Rosemary, but she spoke instead, studying her mask closely.

"I'm so proud of you, Sheldon," said Rosemary, beginning to mix some colors in order to get a deeper red. "I know you sometimes have problems letting things go, but allowing Carson to take over the editing of the film, do what he does best, really paid off. I think you guys have something really amazing started."

Sheldon started to respond but Rosemary began to laugh.

"You know who you are?" she said.

"Um…no?"

"You and Carson are George Lucas and Steven Spielberg," she said, beginning to paint again. "Lucas is great with ideas, but just an okay director. And Spielberg is amazing at visualizing other people's ideas. And together they brought us Indiana Jones. Ohhh…let's watch one tonight. Maybe the one with Sean Connery."

Sheldon never thought of this…he just wanted all the credit. One of the reasons he never put Amy's name on the white board for Fun with Flags although she did do a lot of the research. But letting someone else use their talents actually made the product better. A lot better.

"Or Walt Disney," Rosemary continued. "He was good with ideas, and he surrounded himself with talented artists. Or John Lasseter at Pixar. Didn't Erik mention he met him once?"

Sheldon felt a lot better. He was the George Lucas, the Walt Disney, the John Lasseter.

"I think that's a talent unto itself," Rosemary said. "Being able to identify gifts in others, know when to let someone else take the lead." She held the mask back to study, then continued painting. "What is the next episode about?"

Sheldon, who felt suddenly light and happy for the first time about the success of Gents and Gemstones, said, "Sapphires. And I have most of the research complete due to your engagement ring." He glanced down to her left hand, which was currently bare due to her painting, but he did see the mark of her frequently wearing the ring. He smiled in satisfaction. "And you should be a guest."

"I'm hardly an expert," she laughed.

"We'll label you a sapphire super fan," he said.

"That I am," she giggled, leaning over to kiss Sheldon.

Sheldon continued his work, knowing he would get Rosemary as a guest on the show. He was the Disney, after all.

Now on the Cooper-Fox wedding day, Rosemary stared down at her engagement ring, the special Tolkien styling Sheldon designed for her, the TARDIS blue sapphire gleaming from the cleaning she got before heading to the mountains for the ceremony.

"The ring is so pretty," said Lillian, standing by her sister, adjusting her veil and train. "Remember that episode of Gents and Gemstones? You were so cute."

Rosemary smiled, thinking about shooting that episode at the jeweler, that afternoon picking out their wedding bands, one of which, Sheldon's, sat on the nightstand in front of her, Lillian taking it down for the ceremony shortly. Her ring rested in Best Man Leonard's pocket.

The door opened, and Yoshi whisked into the room.

"Hey ladies, so ten minutes to the big moment," he said, shaking a little.

"Are you nervous?" Lillian asked him, kissing his cheek.

"A bit. I've never ministered before," he said.

"You'll be great, Yoshi," Rosemary said. "What's happening downstairs?"

"Folks are getting seated. Sheldon is about to head down. Everything looks perfect," he said. "I guess I should be down there too. Greet people like a good minister should." He kissed his wife and slid from the room.

For the first time, Rosemary felt butterflies in her stomach, her excitement at seeing Sheldon growing. She stood up and looked out the window, the forest moving softly in the summer breeze.

 _ **Author's Note: In the next chapter, Rosemary shops for her wedding dress, Sheldon seriously ponders the pros and cons of having children, and an opening at Sheldon's SpaceX campus may pave the way for another move from Pasadena.**_

 _ **Thank you for reading. Hope you are enjoying the story so far. Take care!**_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

 **The Teenage Girl Conundrum**

A knock on his door brought Sheldon out of his internal recitation of his vows to Rosemary. Before he could say enter, his future brother-in-law, geologist, and minister of the Cooper-Fox wedding threw open the door.

"Hey, looking snazzy, Coopersaurus," Yoshi said, walking into the room, regarding Sheldon. Yoshi wore an all-black tux ensemble with a bright, lime green bow tie. Surprisingly, his hair, usually spiked and streaked with some outrageous color, remained simply black.

"How is Rosemary?" Sheldon asked, knowing from the sound on the stairs outside his door Yoshi just came from the room above.

"Gorgeous," the younger man grinned. "We should…"

"Hey buddy," came a voice behind Yoshi, and Leonard entered the room. "We should head down. Less than ten minutes now."

"About to say the same thing," said Yoshi excitedly.

"You have the ring?" asked Sheldon, frustrated he had to trust Leonard with something so important. Leonard often did foolish things.

"Yes, for the fiftieth time, Sheldon," Leonard sighed in familiar exasperation.

"Is Rosemary wearing her red boots?" Sheldon asked Yoshi as the three men approached the door.

"Couldn't see," he answered. "But both Fox sisters look…well, like foxes." He laughed jovially. "Lil always looks hot in blue. They somehow make her eyes a deeper brown, like you could get lost in them quite happily for some time."

Sheldon paused and looked at Yoshi, and something suddenly struck him. This fast-talking hipster would be his brother in a few short minutes. Sheldon realized weeks ago that he would not only be gaining a wife but a family as well. And while Sheldon always felt a kinship with Yoshi, recent events solidified their relationship more, past mere acquaintances or even the friendship Sheldon had with Leonard.

"I tell you I can't wait to get up under Lil's dress tonight, know what I mean?" he elbowed Sheldon as they began to move downstairs. "Hers looks simple to get off. Rosemary's on the other hand…"

"What?" asked Sheldon, trying to get some clue as to what his fiancé looked like.

"It just looks complicated," Yoshi laughed.

"Well, Sheldon is a genius," Leonard said with a chuckle.

As they entered the commotion of guests, Sheldon thought back to the day Rosemary came home from dress shopping, speaking of buttons, lace, and ties, and wondered just how difficult dress removal would be. Perhaps he should grab some scissors before they headed to their room for the evening.

 _March 2017_

"I think this is it," Rosemary said, beaming at her reflection in the mirror, the faces of her mother and her sister wet with tears.

"You look so beautiful," Michelle Fox sobbed, dabbing her eyes.

"Oh Rose," sighed Lillian happily. "And Sheldon will love it. It reminds me of that Arwen dress you wore for comic con."

Rosemary nodded, looking at the dress up and down. Cream colored, with an empire waist and long sleeves, which dropped from her elbow to the floor. The scoop neckline would leave plenty of room for the turquoise necklace she would wear from her late grandmother. She would definitely be bringing a Native American edge to a traditional pre-Raphaelite look, but she knew Sheldon would love it, being distinctly his Rosemary. The red boots, however, would completely clash.

Lillian, who knew of the promise of the red knee-high boots, laughed. "Looks like Sheldon won't get his boots after all."

"I promised him, so I'll wear them," she said in a firm tone, not wanting to argue with her sister or let her mother know about Sheldon's little Rosemary as Wonder Woman fetish.

Lillian rolled her eyes in spectacular fashion, then pointed to the back of the dress. "Whoa! How many buttons?"

Rosemary shifted to look at the mirror showing the back. The saleswoman, who helped dress Rosemary, smiled.

"There are fifty," she laughed. "I'm just really quick at getting people dressed. Do it several times a day."

"Well, Sheldon will get his red boots, but might not get the rest of Rosemary," Lillian giggled, and their mother joined in.

Rosemary felt herself redden, but began to laugh as well.

That evening at dinner, Sheldon listened as Rosemary described the fifty buttons on the back of the dress, not telling him much else.

"I think I'll manage, Rosemary," he said smugly, taking a bite of the homemade mac and cheese.

"They're quite small and…"

"Rosemary," he said, knowing his tone was becoming haughty, but not worrying as he was making a very valid point. "I have several degrees and decorations, I successfully brought my basketball team to a league win…"

"Sheldon, your teammates helped…and there are only four teams in the league," she laughed.

"Nevertheless," he continued, clearing his throat. "I am an accomplished person. I doubt some buttons will get in my way."

"Just didn't want you to be frustrated on our wedding night," she shrugged. "But I'm sure the great Sheldon Cooper can handle anything, right?"

Sheldon smiled and nodded, knowing he'd made his point.

But the next afternoon, a lazy and rainy Sunday, Sheldon found something he could not handle. Sheldon sat on the sofa, playing video games alone, Rosemary upstairs on a scheduled call with Governor Swanson about her impending education bill. A cup of tea at his side, Sheldon felt content, his mind soothed by the game.

The doorbell rang, and he paused the game, unsure who could be there. Opening the door, he became even more puzzled. Ivy, the thirteen-year-old girl who lived next store, stood on the doorstep, her clothes drenched from the rain, her eyes red and puffy.

"Hello…Sheldon," she stammered in a sob. "Can…can…can I…um…"

Sheldon stepped aside and gestured Ivy into the house, closing the door. Ivy hugged herself, shivering, and Sheldon opened the coat closet and pulled out one of Rosemary's sweaters, which Ivy took with a small smile.

"You seem distressed," Sheldon said, not knowing what to say. While he'd interacted with Ivy many times, he found little in common with her except of their mutual love for _Star Wars_ and interest in Captain America, although he knew Ivy only liked the superhero because he was "hella cute."

"Is, um, can I see Rosemary?" she asked.

"She is on a very important call with the governor," he said. "May I offer you a hot beverage?" He moved toward the kitchen, Ivy following. "You know I am skilled with coffee and…"

"Mocha, please. Shot of caramel," she whispered, and Sheldon noticed her nose dripped from crying. He handed her a tissue from the box by the sofa, then gasped, finally seeing her face in better light, gaudy make-up smeared everywhere.

"Ivy!" he cried. "What happened to your face?"

"I…the girls at school…make-up…oh, it's terrible," and she sunk into one of the chairs at the kitchen table and sobbed.

Sheldon fixed her drink, grabbed his own tea, then sat silently beside her in the kitchen, having no idea what to say, wishing Rosemary would hurry up and get him out of this very awkward moment.

Hmmm…girls liked to talk, teenagers especially.

"So, how is school? Are you enjoying your classes?" he asked.

"Oh Sheldon," Ivy broke into another sob. "There are these really mean girls, and they told me Troy liked me, and I like him. So I messaged him on Insta, just like a hello or something. And then we talked, and I asked him if he liked me, and he said like a friend and thought Jules was prettier. And Jules wears make-up but I don't so I told dad, and he said I was too young but a bunch of girls do and…and…" She broke down crying again, sipped her mocha, then cried some more, causing her mascara to darken underneath her eyes.

Sheldon felt panicked. Where was Rosemary? He had no idea how to talk to a teenager, much less a teenage girl. Especially about boys and make-up and mean girls. Sheldon hardly experienced his teenage years.

But he did have his feelings hurt in the past, many times, by mean kids who seemed like the girls of which Ivy spoke. He took a deep breath.

"They sound…terrible," he said. "I'm…I'm sorry that happened to you."

Ivy looked up, regarding him through his tears.

"I wish…" she whispered. "I wish my mom was here. She could help me with things, like make-up and stuff."

Sheldon nodded, remembering Ivy, and her little sister Jasmine, lived with just their father, a longshoreman at the Port of Tacoma. Their mother, who went in and out of rehab, struggling with drug addiction, had no contact with her daughters.

"My dad…I know he…he tries," she said. "And I yelled at him, and he yelled at me and then he started to cry too and…" But she fell silent for several moments, then continued. "My dad hardly ever cries. I was really mean to him…and he does so much for me and Jas." She began crying again.

Sheldon sat, at a complete loss for words, so he stood up and put together a plate of cookies, then sat back down again.

Good Lord, get off the phone, Rosemary!

After neither Ivy nor Sheldon spoke for several minutes, Sheldon finally said, "Your father sounds a lot better than mine."

Ivy looked up at him again, her tears stopped for the moment. "What was he like?"

Sheldon told her about his father, memories he just recently, at the prompting of Rosemary and his sister Missy, began to review and consider. Most were unpleasant, Sheldon realizing he held a lot of bitterness towards the man, and he would try his hardest not to be like him, as a husband or a father.

When he'd finished his brief summary, Ivy nodded, then looked at the table intently. "Sometimes it feels like my mom died. We can't have any contact with her. It's like she's gone and…"

"Ivy? To what do we owe the pleasure," came Rosemary's cheerful voice as she entered the kitchen. Sheldon let out a deep sigh of relief.

Ivy leaped up and grabbed Rosemary in an embrace, her sobs renewed. Sheldon just shook his head, not understanding anything that just transpired.

Rosemary leaned back to look at the girl. "Ivy…my God, this looks like a MAC makeover gone horribly wrong. What happened?"

The comment got a weak laugh from Ivy, and she sat back down, Rosemary joining her. Sheldon took the opportunity to leap to his feet and return to his video game in the living room. But he kept the game on mute, wanting to listen to how Rosemary handled the weeping teen.

And once again, Rosemary impressed Sheldon with her ability to relate to others. She listened to Ivy's angst, reassured her of her beauty, pointing out several attributes, damning the stupid teenage boy Troy for his lack of tact, saying he was a blind idiot. She told the girl her father was probably confused and scared, just like Ivy. Raising a teenager is not easy, and Ivy laughed with Rosemary as she shared stories of her and her father during her teen years. He heard her offer to help Ivy with her make-up, teach her techniques, and be there for her if she needed to talk about anything else girl-related

Sheldon had been listening so intently that he jumped, startled, when the doorbell rang again. Answering, he found Doug, Ivy and Jasmine's father, on the doorstep.

"I saw Ivy come over…we needed a moment apart. Sorry we intruded," he said, stepping inside.

Before Sheldon could reassure his neighbor everything was fine and rules of etiquette dictated neighbors assist one another in times of crisis, the man continued.

"Jesus, Sheldon, she's a teenager now, and I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing," he whispered, frowning deeply.

Ivy rushed in and hugged her dad tight, and Sheldon stood by Rosemary, watching the father and daughter. Finally, Doug raised his head.

"Thank you so much," he said.

"Listen, Ivy can come over any time. And if it's okay with you, we can go to the mall Saturday afternoon to get a little bit of make-up, and I'd be happy to show her some things," Rosemary said.

Doug just smiled and nodded, looking on the verge of tears. As Ivy returned Rosemary's sweater and stepped outside, he gripped Sheldon by the hand.

"You are both good people," he said quietly, then turned and walked with his daughter back to their townhome.

Sheldon returned to the couch, Rosemary slumping down beside him. He needed to process what just occurred, so he turned to her.

"So Governor Swanson said to come to his office Monday with Senator Meagle," she said, as if Ivy and her father hadn't just laid out their family drama for them to see.

She continued to talk about her conversation with the governor, but Sheldon stopped listening, struck by a sudden realization. He and Rosemary planned to have kids, and while Sheldon could see himself holding an adorable little baby, smiling up at him with Rosemary's eyes, or his daughter grown, the government appointed ambassador to the lunar colony, he never considered his child as a teenager. Somehow, in his daydreams, the child went from baby to adulthood, nothing in between. How would he cope with a teenager?

But Rosemary didn't seem concerned, and she finally ran upstairs again to call Senator Meagle, leaving Sheldon to resume his video game and worry about a child that didn't even exist.

Tuesday evening Leonard usually Skyped with Sheldon at 7 p.m. sharp, a tradition taken up as Penny now attended a class at the community college that night. Settling in front of the computer, Sheldon's face soon greeted him. His friend wore a smart-looking suit and tie.

"Hey," said Leonard. "How's it going, Sheldon."

"Okay," mumbled Sheldon, obviously not.

"What's up with the suit?" Leonard asked. "Meeting tonight?" He knew Sheldon sometimes had late-evening meetings with others at SpaceX think tanks across the world.

"No," said Sheldon, still looking distressed. "Rosemary and I are playing Catwoman and Batman tonight. But I felt more in the mood for Bruce Wayne. Maybe put on my cowl later."

Leonard raised an eyebrow, slightly confused. "Are you going to some sort of costume party later?"

Sheldon sighed heavily. "It's a coitus role play game, Leonard. Try to keep up."

Leonard felt his jaw drop. "Sheldon, you dog," he teased. "Do you and…"

"I would like to discuss the prospect of children," Sheldon began. "And I need some…counsel."

"Oh?"

"Yes, I thought I wanted children. But something recently happened that made me begin to consider I might not be…father material."

Leonard studied Sheldon, who always seemed so confident, and now looked very dismayed, particularly for someone about to engage in superhero-themed sex.

"What happened?"

He listened as Sheldon spoke about an incident with the girl next store, fear that he wouldn't be able to raise a healthy, well-adjusted child coming to the forefront.

"I know I struggle socially, and…well, I don't want to mess up," he said, then stopped his lecture.

"Sheldon, you and Rosemary would be doing it together. And you have a lot to offer a child. You have more parenting skills than you think," Leonard responded, then immediately regretted his words. Now he'd be required to list those skills, and he had trouble coming up with Sheldon's parenting attributes.

Sure enough, Sheldon asked, "Such as?"

Leonard thought hard. "Well, you would make sure they were clean and healthy and safe. And you would be able to help them with their schooling."

Sheldon nodded. "Are you and Penny planning on children?"

"We've been talking about it more and more since Amy and Erik got pregnant," Leonard said, but then felt his usual feelings of doubt sink in. How would he and Penny be at parenting? Sure, they would have smart and beautiful children, but imagining raising a teenager, years of his own life he disliked intensely, made him shudder. "But now that you mention it, I don't feel so good about it."

"Yes!" Sheldon said. "Then it's settled. Rosemary and I will no longer have children."

"Um…isn't that something to discuss with Rosemary?"

"And we should no longer engage in coitus, as there is always the possibility of pregnancy," Sheldon said with formal finality. "How about you, Leonard? We should make this a pact as best friends and…"

"Whoa, whoa, hold on Sheldon," Leonard said, but now his mind was spinning with thoughts of him and Penny as parents, and he found several aspects of the prospect of parenting absolutely terrifying. "Listen, Sheldon, I totally agree with you that having a kid will be frightening and…"

"Oh Bruce…Bruce Wayne," came Rosemary's voice from a distance, possibly behind Sheldon's laptop where Leonard couldn't see. "You ready for the Bat Cave?"

Leonard watched Sheldon's face change dramatically, his eyes widen, his mouth gaping open, staring above the computer screen. Suddenly, Leonard saw a pair of fuzzy handcuffs land in Sheldon's lap.

Sheldon looked at Leonard, smiling sheepishly. "Forget everything I just said about coitus. I was being foolish. Good-bye."

Then Sheldon disappeared, the conversation cut off. Leonard no longer pondered the fear of having children with Penny. He began to plan on how to get Penny to play Batman and Catwoman with him, hopefully in the very near future.

The next day at work, Sheldon poured over data from his recent study, his back a little sore from the previous evening, but the rest of him enlivened by excellent coitus that continued throughout the night, Rosemary waking him up at 2 a.m. for another round, Sheldon climbing into the shower with her for a quick session that morning. Still, the thought of children plagued him, and he planned to speak with Rosemary this evening about his insecurities, knowing he always felt best when they talked through things.

"Hi Sheldon. Have a moment?" asked Grant, the head administrator of the Puget Sound SpaceX campus, entering his office.

Sheldon gestured toward the seat across from him.

"We're adding another engineering building and hiring several new people," he began. "Human resources will begin the process next month, interviewing in early summer, with the facility opening sometime around the holidays. I know you worked with some high quality people down at Caltech, so I was wondering if you knew anyone who would be interested. Maybe give them a heads-up to get their resume and recommendations together before the official posting."

Howard immediately popped into Sheldon's mind, and that evening he called his friend, who shouted into the phone with excitement, hanging up before they were able to say a proper good-bye in order to get his application materials together.

Shaking his head, Sheldon went to the living room and sat on the sofa next to Rosemary, who quietly read one of the comics he'd purchased at the shop Saturday when she'd been dress shopping. With the television off, the light rain falling outside, the evening was quiet and perfect for an important conversation.

"Rosemary," he began, trying to sound professional. "I need to speak with you about something important. And since the…ah…well, incident on election night, I feel it's important to always be up front and straight forward with you."

His fiancé sat down the comic book and turned to face him, looking concerned.

"After this Sunday's visit from Ivy, I have concerns about having children," he began, then proceeded to tell her about his feelings and his conversation with Leonard.

When he finished, a smile crept across her face. "You were going to give up coitus? Silly man. What changed your mind?"

Sheldon felt himself blush. "Well, that lacy black bra and panties, topped with those cat ears. And the handcuffs."

"Which you wouldn't stay in!" Rosemary scolded playfully. "The goal is to be teased, drove crazy."

"But I like to touch you. Plus, those were very poor quality handcuffs."

Rosemary giggled. "Okay, okay, Houdini. Back to the kids. You think you'll be a terrible father?"

"Yes. For a teenager, anyway."

Rosemary looked at him for a long time, Sheldon loving her thoughtful look.

"You do realize I'm terrified too," she said.

"You don't look it. And the way you helped Ivy…"

"Sheldon!" cried Rosemary. "That's just simple girl drama, dumb teenager shit. I'm afraid about…about everything! Giving birth and what to feed the kid and I still want to work but I want us to have quality time with our family, but what if I want to run for a higher office? I have all these goals for my life, my career, things I want to do, changes I want, need to see happen. And then goals for my personal life with you, like raising a kid who is kind and smart and appreciates geek culture like we do. And I think sometimes those things conflict and…and…" She fell silent, staring at the coffee table.

Sheldon regarded her, realizing he had to remember that Rosemary always put on a confident face for the public, but this was her true self, the one he got to see and loved best. The one he found a deep connection with their evening in front of the fire at the McCarthy's bed and breakfast well over a year ago. And for some reason, her insecurities helped soothe his own.

"Rosemary, you can still do all those things. I want you to do all those things. I've already made plans. The world needs Rosemary Fox," Sheldon said, then remembered something Leonard told him the night before. "We'll be doing this together, raising a child."

"I just don't want to screw up," she said softly. "It's not like messing up on one of my masks. This is a person."

Sheldon nodded. "But…well, I still want one. And I still want to have coitus."

Rosemary laughed. "Me too." She scooted over and leaned on Sheldon's shoulder. "Just imagine, we'll teach them to be true nerds, like us. They'll collect comic books, quote _Star Trek,_ and appreciate quality British television."

Sheldon leaned down, allowing Rosemary to lie on him, her soft, warm, fragrant hair spilling onto his chest.

"What should we name him or her?" asked Sheldon.

"Bilbo," Rosemary said with finality.

"Bilbo Cooper?"

"Yes," laughed Rosemary.

"How about Obi-Wan?"

"Obi-Wan Cooper?" scoffed Rosemary. "Can you imagine attendance on the first day of school? His name in public will be Ben." She began to giggle. "Or Jabba. Jabba Cooper. Or Jabba Cooper-Fox."

"Those names won't matter, as we are having a girl," said Sheldon firmly.

"We are?"

"Yes. Every time I think of our future child, it's a girl. And she looks like you," he said.

He couldn't see Rosemary's face, so he didn't know her reaction to this news. But she was silent for quite some time.

"What do you think of, when you think of her?" she whispered.

"Well, I used to think she would be president, but now I just picture you in the Oval Office. No, she'll be the ambassador to the lunar colony," he said, the original daydream prompted from a recent discussion at SpaceX about plans to build on the moon to create an easier starting point to Mars and other space destinations.

"Does she like _Doctor Who_ and Tolkien?" Rosemary asked.

"Oh yes," Sheldon said, then began talking about all the things he wanted to teach her, about physics and superheroes and basketball. After a while he stopped, the rain falling harder outside.

"That sounds nice," Rosemary said, Sheldon hearing a hint of sleepiness in her voice.

He now lay completely on the couch, Rosemary on top of him, and although he knew his back would be even sorer later, he allowed himself to drift off to sleep with her, comfortable and warm in sharing his daydreams of the future with his wife-to-be.

Now, coming down the stairs to be greeted by wedding guests, that evening came back to Sheldon as he saw Amy and Erik. Amy, nearly eight months pregnant, wearing a mint green dress, beamed up at Erik, who took a break from photography before the ceremony to hold his wife. Amy and Erik would be heading to Gabon with their new baby in a few months, both continuing their work, making their child part of everything. And if Amy, with her insecurities, and Erik, with his anxiety, could take on child rearing and still pursue their lives' works, he knew he and Rosemary could as well.

Amy caught sight of Sheldon and gave him a broad smile, then was joined by Penny, who whistled at him.

"What a hottie," Penny said as he approached the two women and Erik with Leonard and Yoshi close behind.

Sheldon turned to Leoanrd. "You have the ring, right?"

Leonard sighed heavily. "No Sheldon, in the time since you asked me, only a minute ago, I got in the car, drove up to Mt. St. Helens, and threw it inside."

"Sarcasm, Sheldon," teased Penny.

"I know," snapped Sheldon, starting to feel nervous. While the assembly wasn't large, the guest list not topping twenty-five, he could now see all the people he would speak in front of in mere minutes. But then he remembered the previous July, at the international physics convention, speaking in front of the physics world, and he did fine because Rosemary sat in the front row. And now she'd be standing right in front of him, his future wife, the mother of his future daughter.

Sheldon let that thought comfort him as Yoshi began to wave people toward their seats, the wedding about to begin.

 _ **Author's Note: Next time, Rosemary and Sheldon visit the Cooper clan in Texas, and a sudden family emergency thrusts Sheldon into a role he may be unprepared to play.**_

 _ **Thank you for reading.**_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

 **The Son-in-Law Realization**

Rosemary took one final glance in the mirror before turning to her sister.

"Okay, I think I'm ready to head downstairs," she said, feeling the butterflies in her stomach.

"Good, because I think everyone is seated," said Michelle Fox, Rosemary's mother, entering from the hall. She stepped out to make sure Sheldon was not anywhere near the stairway so Rosemary could emerge unseen.

"Well, this is it, Rose," Lillian said, picking up the bridal bouquet and handing it to Rosemary. She beamed at her sister. "You look…well, I'm so excited and happy and…"

"Don't start crying," laughed Rosemary. "You'll make me cry."

Michelle stepped up and wrapped both girls in her arms. "My babies," she said. "I'm just so glad we're all here together…after…after everything that happened these past few months."

Rosemary could only just nod into her mother's shoulder, remembering one of the worst weeks of her life, which incidentally began during a visit to Sheldon's family in Texas.

 _April 2017_

Toward the end of April, both Sheldon and Rosemary took a long weekend to spend four nights at the Cooper household, and while Rosemary initially felt nervous being surrounded by Sheldon's family, not on her turf, she immediately became enveloped in their warmth and excitement over Sheldon finally getting hitched.

The first evening, the entire family descended upon his mother's home to meet Rosemary, including aunts, uncles, cousins, and some other distant relations. And while Sheldon always claimed to be the black sheep of the family, Rosemary found he had a lot in common with them, particularly in his mannerisms and speech. The one conundrum remained Sheldon and his brother, George Jr. The man was harsh to Sheldon and a bit leering at Rosemary, and she found herself keeping a distance from him. Luckily, that first evening was the only time he came over, and he told Sheldon out right he had no plans attending the wedding in such a liberal, hippy place as Washington state.

On the other hand, Missy, who arrived mid-way through the elaborate barbecue with her husband and child, turned out to be funny and delightful, and Rosemary spent the entire next day with Sheldon's sister, out sightseeing and shopping. And much to Sheldon's dismay, Missy insisted on going with Rosemary alone. Rosemary heard stories of young Sheldon that made her laugh so hard she cried, and when she returned that evening for dinner with the immediate family, Missy staying for the meal, her and Missy shared meaningful glances and giggles, which made Sheldon squirm.

Mary insisted Sheldon and Rosemary sleep in separate rooms, as they were not properly wed, and this resulted in a rather humorous argument for Rosemary to watch, seeing Sheldon whine to his mother, telling her the logic was ridiculous, as he slept with Rosemary every night. Plus, the Fox family let them sleep together when the couple visited the rez. But Rosemary intervened and slept in Missy's childhood bedroom, Sheldon across the hall. But the second evening, after her day with Missy, Rosemary tossed and turned, and at about midnight, when the house seemed quiet, crept across the hall and quietly slid into Sheldon's room.

"Who's there?" came a panicked voice in the dark.

"Sheldon, it's me. Be quiet," Rosemary said, sliding into the bed with her fiancé. "You don't want your mom to catch you with a girl in your room."

Sheldon shifted around the bed, a bit smaller than their one at home, and wrapped himself around Rosemary. "You know, if she catches us, you won't get any dessert with dinner tomorrow. And mom said she is making apple pie."

"I think I've eaten enough in the past few days to last the rest of the month," laughed Rosemary.

Lying on her back with Sheldon half draped over her, she looked around Sheldon's bedroom, illuminated only by the little bit of light coming through the shades. A poster for _Star Wars: The Return of the Jedi_ , another of the periodic table of elements, and several small pictures of famous scientists, from Albert Einstein to Carl Sagan. She turned to Sheldon who watched her as she looked at his childhood space.

"So, you never made out with a girl in your bedroom?" she asked.

"No," scoffed Sheldon, aghast. "I never had a girlfriend before Amy, and we never made out in my bedroom in Pasadena."

"I remember making out with you in your bed for the first time," Rosemary said, moving her body along Sheldon's. She heard him let out a small sigh.

"I remember that too…very well," he whispered. "You said you came into my room to borrow a comic book, but I think you came in there for…other reasons."

"Aren't you glad I did?" Rosemary asked, turning her body to be flush against him, her mouth on his as she spoke.

"Yes," he whispered back, then let out a deep moan as Rosemary's hand slid beneath the band of his pajama pants and briefs to grasp his erection. "Very glad…ooohhhh Rose."

Rosemary ran her fingers along Sheldon's length, knowing how and where he liked to be touched, eliciting quiet gasps from him from time to time.

"Baby, Rosie…I…" he said, then plunged his tongue into her mouth, his hands finding her breasts under her nightshirt, pinching and teasing her nipples. He pulled back for a moment, Rosemary seeing his blue eyes in the dark deep with desire. "I'm actually finding this secrecy as well as making out in my old bedroom quite stimulating, and I think…I think…"

But Rosemary kissed him deeply again, Sheldon tasting of toothpaste. She ran her fingers along his member, pumping him from time to time. Sheldon now lay on his back, enjoying her ministrations, lazily teasing her breasts as he gasped under her touch.

His eyes snapped open. "Rosemary, you need to stop…I'm…I'm going to…ohhhh…yes," Sheldon groaned as he released into Rosemary's hand, his hips thrusting up and down as he climaxed. He threw one of his hands back and knocked the bedside lamp to the floor with a loud crash.

The couple froze as a door opened down the hall.

"What in the good Lord's name," came Mary's voice.

Rosemary, with her one hand still gripping Sheldon's penis and the other his shoulder, looked at her fiancé, who's face showed a mix of deep orgasmic relief and terror. Definitely a strange look for Sheldon.

"I think I left my bedroom door open," she whispered.

Sheldon opened his mouth to speak but another door opened.

"Mary, go back to bed," came Meemaw's voice.

"But look, that girl is probably in there with Shelly and…"

"For God's sake, they are getting married. They live together," Meemaw said, and Rosemary heard her yawn. "So Sheldon has a girl in his bedroom. No, a woman in his bedroom. They are in their late thirties, for crying out loud. Aren't you pleased? You said you always worried about Sheldon not being interested in girls."

Rosemary looked down at Sheldon whose brow was furrowed, listening. Quietly, Rosemary removed her hand from Sheldon, grabbing a tissue from the nightstand to clean herself off.

"Yes," came Mary's voice.

"And now he has one, a lovely one I might add, full energy, smart as a whip," Meemaw continued. "And that boy actually seems happy. Leave them alone. Who knows, you might get a grandbaby from Sheldon after all."

After a few more unintelligible mumbles, Rosemary heard the two doors closed. She turned to Sheldon.

"I should go back and…" but stopped when she saw Sheldon's thoughtful expression. "You okay?"

Sheldon looked at her, seeming to snap out of some deep thought. "Yes. But don't go. You haven't climaxed yet."

Rosemary felt herself blush in the dark. "Sheldon, baby, it's okay. We don't want to make noise and…" But Sheldon slid his hands under her panties, quickly finding her already wet opening.

"Then be quiet," he whispered seductively, sliding his fingers inside her, placing pressure on her most sensitive spot. Using his other hand, he pulled her on top of him. "Oh kitten," he cooed in her ear, his faced buried in her hair as she began to grind against his hand. "You are almost there anyway."

"How…how can you tell?" she whispered, trying to keep from crying out as Sheldon's teeth nipped at her nipples over her night shirt.

"Because your clitoris is swollen," he said matter-of-factly, but Sheldon's words made her whole body shudder in pleasure. "And when you begin to orgasm, I can feel the walls of your vagina constrict around my fingers or my penis or my tongue, whichever way I am pleasuring you and…"

But Sheldon's explanation drove her over the edge, and she felt her climax over take her. She buried her head in his neck, moaning into the soft skin. Soon, she couldn't take the pleasure anymore, certain she'd cry out, so she fell down beside him, her body warm and throbbing, sleepiness suddenly upon her.

"You were talking dirty, Sheldon," she whispered after regaining her breath.

"I was merely explaining the mechanics of how I know when…" he began, but Rosemary took his mouth in a kiss.

"How do you like making out with a girl in your bedroom?" she asked, snuggling into him.

"I know I said you wouldn't have liked me when I was younger," he said. "But I wish I had known you years ago. We wasted so much time, Rosemary, not knowing each other."

Rosemary nodded and snuggled into her fiancé after he'd righted the fallen lamp. They soon drifted off, Rosemary waking early in the morning to slip back into her room.

That evening, after another day of sightseeing and good food, Rosemary, Sheldon, Mary, and Meemaw played Uno at the kitchen table, laughing and enjoying cookies and lemonade. As a new hand was dealt, Rosemary stood.

"I'm just going to run to the restroom," she said. "Be right back."

Coming back down the hall, she glanced into the living room at her phone, which she put on silent and placed on the coffee table an hour before. The notification light blinked, and she turned on the screen. Within the past hour, she had five missed calls from her mother and seven from her sister, with a text message from Lillian reading _Call me now_. Rosemary felt her heart in her throat; something was wrong. She stepped out onto the porch to call Lillian back.

Ten minutes passed after Rosemary left, and Mary, Meemaw, and Sheldon waited, as it was her turn. Finally, Sheldon rose to see where Rosemary went.

"Well, I hope the fried chicken wasn't too much for her," said Mary. "I know it's not a typical food of her people."

Sheldon rolled his eyes as he entered the living room, immediately hearing Rosemary on the front porch, crying. Alarmed, he ran outside. She sat sobbing, her head in her hands, cell phone beside her.

"Rosemary!" he cried, sitting down on the porch swing beside her. "What happened?"

"My father," she said between sobs. "He had a stroke. Very bad." She clung to Sheldon, crying. "And we're here…so far away."

Sheldon's mind began to turn. He needed to get Rosemary to her father now.

"Stay here," he said, running into the house and grabbing his own phone.

"Shelly, what's going on?" Mary said, coming into the living room.

"Elder Fox had a stroke," said Sheldon, finding their flight information and dialing the airline. He watched his mother and Meemaw dash out onto the porch to be with Rosemary.

After explaining the situation, the closest flight Sheldon could get out of Houston to Spokane, Washington left in eight hours. Frustrated, Sheldon sighed and thought of other arrangements. He knew Rosemary had to work at the museum the day after they returned, so he called her boss, still at work due to the time difference. He then called his own boss, Grant, as he was leading a team meeting upon his return as well.

"Where are you?" asked Grant, who seemed to be typing frantically as he spoke with Sheldon. "Are you near the Houston airport?"

"Yes," said Sheldon, puzzled.

"One of Musk's private jets is parked there. I'll call the pilot and set it up. Can you get there in an hour?"

Sheldon couldn't believe his luck. "Yes."

More clicking. "Okay, they're warming up the plane. Give Rosemary a hug."

"Thank you."

Sheldon hung up and ran back to the porch. He froze as he stepped outside. Rosemary sat between his mom and Meemaw, sobbing into Mary's shoulder, the two older woman holding her tight. Watching the three women he loved most in the world together, his family comforting Rosemary, brought an unexplainable knot to his throat. After a moment, he regained himself and stepped outside, explaining the situation.

Rosemary stared at him, her eyes wide. "A private jet?"

"Yes, but we need to get going," Sheldon said.

Rosemary nodded, and soon the couple sat in the back of Mary's car, headed for the airport. Rosemary gripped Sheldon's hand tightly and said nothing, occasionally breaking into tears.

After a quick run through security, Sheldon and Rosemary were airborne, both of them marveling at the interior of the jet, the SpaceX and Tesla logos everywhere. After a while, Rosemary resumed her silence, still holding Sheldon's hand but staring out the window.

"I'm scared," she whispered finally, as they began their flight over the Rocky Mountains. "I don't want to lose my dad. I need him."

Sheldon simply nodded.

"We're getting married in three months," Rosemary continued, her voice thick, face wet. "He needs to be there."

"He will," Sheldon reassured her, hoping he wasn't lying.

Hours later, as they began their descent into Spokane, Rosemary leaned over to Sheldon.

"Do we tip the pilot?" she asked.

Sheldon bit his lip. He did not know proper private jet etiquette. He voiced his ignorance to Rosemary, who actually laughed, a pleasant sound after hours of her silence or weeping.

"Sheldon, I don't think many people do know proper private jet etiquette," she responded.

But there was little time for consideration. When they landed and disembarked, a taxi waited for them on the tarmac, Sheldon guessing this to be Grant's doing. They immediately headed to the Spokane hospital, the nearest facility to the Fox family's reservation. Rushing inside, they found the ICU, and Sheldon breathed a sigh of relief seeing the familiar face of Yoshi in the waiting area. The younger man ran over and embraced both Rosemary and Sheldon.

"We just got here thirty minutes ago," he said, his usual lively and humorous tone absent. He looked exhausted. "I never thought we could do that drive that fast. Lil and Michelle are back there, but they only allow two at a time. But I think they'll make an exception, Rose."

Rosemary checked in with the nurse as Sheldon took a seat next to Yoshi. He felt the usual queasiness a hospital visit brought, but his fear for Rosemary and her family overpowered his germ paranoia. Although he wasn't close to Thomas Fox, he knew Rosemary to be quite the daddy's girl, and losing her father would devastate her.

He turned to Yoshi. "Have you been in to see Elder Fox?"

"No," he said. "Lil just ran back. The nurse said he hasn't woken up. The stroke was bad."

Both men sat, Sheldon staring at the paintings of flowers and landscapes adorning the walls. The nearby window only offered the darkness of the night, and Yoshi seemed uncharacteristically quiet. So they sat in silence.

"How was Texas?" he asked Sheldon after at least ten minutes passed.

"Good," Sheldon said. "My family likes Rosemary. And my brother assured me he wasn't coming to the wedding, although my sister is making a point to come and make some sort of embarrassing toast."

Yoshi just nodded.

"How are things going with your doctorate? I remember you saying you submitted your final dissertation," Sheldon said, finding talking better than silence at the moment.

Yoshi sighed heavily. "I have to revise my final chapter. And I plan to present in six weeks. My committee says it'll be okay, but I'm struggling," he said. "I took this week off to focus on it but now…" Another sigh. "God, I hope he's okay. Lil…she would just…"

The three women emerged from the ICU, red faced, clinging to one another. Sheldon and Yoshi ran over to receive the news. Elder Fox would remain in ICU for several days before being moved to another room and hopefully home, soon after. He showed signs of consciousness, but no speech. But the doctor seemed hopeful he'd recover, with the help of physical therapy.

Michelle took both Yoshi and Sheldon's hands. "I have a very big favor to ask you boys."

"Anything," said Yoshi, and Sheldon nodded, although he felt nervous agreeing to a favor he did not yet know.

"Willy, Thomas' assistant manager at the store, is on vacation, RVing in South Dakota, visiting family on his home rez," she said. "He's driving home now but won't be back for two days. Thomas has a couple part-time folks, but…I know this is huge. Can you two run the store for the next two days while we're here at the hospital?"

Yoshi smiled warmly, Sheldon knowing the appropriate thing to do to mimic him.

"Of course," Yoshi said, Sheldon merely nodding.

The rest of the night, the family spent in the waiting room, dozing, waking when the nurse came out with updates, taking turns sitting beside Elder Fox. However, Sheldon did not go back to see his future father-in-law. Even when Rosemary offered to take him, he relinquished his spot to Lillian. The idea of seeing Rosemary's father, strong and imposing, lying helpless in a hospital bed, made his stomach churn, and he couldn't quite figure out the reason.

At dawn, Sheldon rode with Yoshi in his old pick-up to the small grocery store on the reservation, owned by the Fox family, arriving just in time to receive a produce shipment. At 8 a.m., Sheldon unlocked the doors, feeling a bit nervous. Other than his brief stint at The Cheesecake Factory, he'd never worked in customer service.

The morning proved to be blessedly slow, most coming in to inquire about Elder Fox's health. But the afternoon sped up, and when the only other worker for the day, a high school student who only bagged and stocked shelves, arrived, Sheldon found himself overwhelmed at the register, as people stopped to shop after work. But what distracted him the most was the way the kid bagged.

"You cannot put the bananas near the frozen items," he hissed at the boy, stopping his work ringing up the customer and snatching the bag away. "And you can use the cereal boxes to balance out the dimensions of the bag."

The bagger glared at Sheldon, and the line started to build, five customers with full carts waiting. He called for Yoshi but saw him at the back taking another delivery.

"Hey, that is on sale, thirty percent off," snarled the elderly woman he currently rang up.

"Not according to the computer," said Sheldon.

"But there's a sign," she retorted.

Sheldon leaned back to look down the soup aisle, not seeing a sign anywhere.

"No there's not," he said, continuing with the next items.

"Yes, there is," she snapped back.

"There is no empirical evidence of a sale, only your word. Therefore, no discount," Sheldon said, matter-of-factly.

"Well, I will not be spoken to in such a manner," she said, and left, the bagging area filled with unpaid for merchandise, and another customer waiting.

Sheldon began to feel overwhelmed, and his natural instinct was to run. But he knew he needed to press on, for Elder Fox, for Rosemary, for…

"This coupon is expired," Sheldon said, handing back the piece of paper to the woman holding a baby.

"But Elder Fox usually takes these, especially for formula," she said.

"I can't ring it in…"

"But Elder Fox…"

Sheldon left the register, including the ten people in line, and dashed to the break room, closing the door behind him. He sat, trying to calm his heartbeat, thinking of physics, of Rosemary's laugh, of his favorite _Star Trek: Deep Space Nine_ episodes. Fifteen minutes passed, and the door to the break room flew open.

"What the fuck, Sheldon?!" yelled Yoshi. "I come up after the dairy guy leaves, and people are just standing there!"

"Can we switch?" asked Sheldon, not wanting to engage in a fight. Yoshi knew him as strange but for the most part, socially competent. He'd changed so much since meeting Glenn, then Rosemary, and moving from his friends who often gave into his little fits. He wanted to remain that Sheldon, not the one he left behind in California.

"Fine," Yoshi hissed. "Some milk and cheese needs to be restocked. Then the produce needs to be checked. Get rid of anything spoiled." And he left.

Nervous about another day of this, and making his future brother angrier, he texted the only person close to him who had customer service experience: Penny.

 _Can we Skype tonight?_ he wrote.

Sheldon crept from the back room to the refrigerator and found the simple manual labor of stocking comforting. But soon, customers came by to ask him questions, and Sheldon found his eye drawn to the haphazard way a mountain of toilet paper was stacked, looking annoyingly asymmetrical as people took from the display. He tried to ignore it, knowing he needed to get the cheese out on the floor, but his brain kept itching, and he soon found himself rearranging the paper aisle.

At 8 p.m., he heard Yoshi make the announcement that the store was closed, and Sheldon realized he never made his way over to the produce section. Hurrying over, he almost ran into Yoshi coming around the corner.

"Sheldon," he said angrily. Sheldon never saw Yoshi look mad before. The look was unattractive on his usually handsome, jovial face. "You never got to the produce?"

"No, but the paper section is quite…"

"What is wrong with you!?" Yoshi yelled. "We're trying to help out the girls, and you freak out and leave all these customers at the register."

"I just got a little overwhelmed," Sheldon said back harshly. He hated Yoshi's tone, implying he didn't care for Rosemary, her sister and mother, Elder Fox.

"And you think I'm not!?" screamed Yoshi.

Before Sheldon knew what happened, both him and Yoshi were yelling at each other, mean things, hateful things, angry things. Yoshi called him an "idiot motherfucking asswipe" to which Sheldon shouted that the geologist was a "rock monkey piece of shit." Sheldon never used such language but found the frustration and anger building in him over the horrible situation boiling over into rage. And he embraced the dark side, feeling a bit of his tension released in yelling at Yoshi.

Finally, Yoshi grabbed a cantaloupe from a nearby stand, and for a moment, Sheldon saw himself lying in a hospital bed, his chart mentioning a severe concussion from a large piece of fruit hitting him in the frontal lobe. But Yoshi threw it with a roar at Sheldon's feet, seeds and melon getting all over the floor and Sheldon's shoes and pants. Then the younger man stormed off, leaving Sheldon shaking, his fists clenched, staring at a stand of oranges.

A half hour later, they drove back to the Fox home in silence, finding the women gone. Sheldon checked his phone and found two messages, one from Penny saying to Skype her at 10:30 and the other from Rosemary saying they'd be home by midnight. He told Yoshi the latter message, and he grunted acknowledgement before heading down to Lillian's room and closing the door. Sheldon made a sandwich in the kitchen and read the small reservation newspaper at the dining room table, waiting for Penny.

Penny looked over at Leonard, who lay asleep on the couch. She sighed. They were definitely getting old, falling asleep before 11 p.m. while watching television. Then she remembered her impending conversation with Sheldon and brightened a little as she turned on her laptop.

Sheldon's face came into view moments after she dialed.

"Hello, Penny," he said, looking exhausted. Circles under bloodshot eyes, paler than normal complexion.

"Hey sweetie," she said cheerfully, hoping her bright mood would raise his spirits. "How are things going with Rosemary and her father?"

She listened to Sheldon tell about their arrival in Spokane, his southern drawl more prominent in his slow, tired speech.

"And I…I struggled a bit at the store today. My mind is made for physics not…customer service and…"

Penny felt her hackles rise at Sheldon's words, "You thought because of my lowly position as a pharma girl and former waitress that I could help you, Mr. high-and-mighty, deal with the rest of the peasants and low lives and…" but her voice faded away, and she stared, shocked.

Sheldon held his face in his hands and wept. Penny felt her chest tighten at the sight, having never seen Sheldon like this before. Soon his weeping turned to sobs.

"Sheldon?" she finally said when he seemed to calm down.

He cleared his throat, wiped his nose with the back of his hand, and looked up at her.

"Sorry, Penny. I will go," and she saw his hand reaching out to log off.

"Sheldon, wait. I'm sorry," she said. "Tell me what's going on."

"What's going on, Penny, is I am a social disaster. And Rosemary usually makes me feel better, but she needs to be with her family, and I need to make her feel better and help out, but I cannot even stock the dairy section or ring up customers. I need to be supportive, I need to be helpful, I want to make things better because I love Rosemary and her family," he said quickly, tears falling down his cheeks. "But I can't, Penny. I'm…I'm a failure."

Penny never saw Sheldon so distraught, and for him to admit failure… Penny saw Sheldon at several low points in his life, when his theory was disproved, when Amy broke up with him, but this Sheldon, the one weeping in despair, showed Penny how deep his love went for Rosemary, and she smiled.

"Sheldon, I'm sure you are doing fine, being helpful and…"

Then Sheldon began talking, about Rosemary and his family, his brother declining the wedding invitation, fighting with Yoshi in the produce section.

"And I don't want Rosemary to lose her father…like me," Sheldon said, finally. "And I don't want to lose Yoshi as a friend because he's going to be my brother and…and I like that. He's better than my real brother and…everything is very complicated. More complicated than my dark matter theory." He sighed. "Why can't I figure this out, Penny? Am I an idiot motherfucking asswipe, like Yoshi said?"

Penny laughed at Sheldon's words. She'd learned more about Sheldon in this conversation than she had living across the hall from him for nine years, and she liked this Sheldon far better than the one she, Leonard, Amy and the rest babied.

"Well, you can be an asswipe sometimes," Penny laughed. "But Sheldon, you can do this." She shifted in her seat, crossing her legs. "I'm going to give you some tips on dealing with customers. Ready?"

Sheldon nodded eagerly, and for the next fifteen minutes, Penny gave him advice on dealing with the store as well as the family situation. She knew she'd accomplished her original goal of cheering him up when he seemed to glance around her and comment on the sweater she had draped over a chair, saying she should hang it up before it got wrinkled. After logging off, she slapped Leonard's butt, jarring him awake.

"To bed, sleepy head," she laughed, feeling happy she helped her friend.

At 8:30 a.m. the next morning, Rosemary having crawled out of bed at 5 a.m. to head back to the hospital, Sheldon found himself shoved awake by a frantic Yoshi.

"Sheldon! We slept in! We were supposed to open the store thirty minutes ago!" he shouted, then ran from the room.

Sleep in? Sheldon rarely slept in! He leaped out of bed, and a mere ten minutes later, he sat next to Yoshi in the pick-up, both disheveled. But Penny's advice from the previous evening rang through his head, the customer always being right, leave the bag boy alone, be nice to Yoshi, he's just as stressed as you.

But pulling up in front of the grocery store, they both gasped. The doors were wide open.

"Shit!" yelled Yoshi as he and Sheldon jumped out. "Did we forget to lock up? Did we…"

They both slid to a stop when entering, an older man with long black hair pulled back in a ponytail at the front register, ringing in an early customer. The man looked up and smiled.

"Ah ha! Are you Lily's husband and Rose's beau?" he asked.

"Um…yeah. Who the hell are you?" asked Yoshi.

"Willy, assistant manager. Got back about one this morning. Drove straight through once Michelle called." He looked the men up and down. "You two look like shit. You're going to scare the customers away," he laughed, handing the shopper her receipt. "You always dress like that, son? You from Texas, right? That the new cowboy style?"

Sheldon looked down and realized his Green Lantern shirt was on backwards, the logo on his back. And his shoes still had a melon seed stuck to the laces. And he hadn't showered since…Texas?!. How had he let his personal hygiene fall by the wayside? Looking at Yoshi, he realized the usually crisp man looked grungy as well.

Willy walked out from behind the counter, the store now empty of shoppers. "You two go home and take care of your women. Tell Michelle and Thomas I'm back. And take a shower."

Sheldon and Yoshi nodded silently and turned to leave.

"By the way, what happened to the paper products?" asked Willy.

Sheldon sighed heavily. "I'm sorry. I just thought…"

"It looks great, cowboy," Willy said. "Send my love to the girls."

Entering the pick-up, Yoshi sighed as he started the engine. "Let's get cleaned up and go to the hospital."

Pulling up to the four-way stop a mile from the Fox home, Yoshi turned to Sheldon.

"Listen, Shel, I'm really sorry. I'm just…no, there is no excuse for me being so mean to you," sighed Yoshi. "I'm an asshole."

"No, I'm sorry. I messed up, and I'm worried and…"

Both men sat in silence, no traffic coming from any direction.

"I'm glad you are going to be my brother," Sheldon said finally, using Penny's advice of sharing his feelings with Yoshi during this rough time. "You are a lot better than my real brother and…I've enjoyed our friendship since we first met. Even before Rosemary, when you were helping me plot revenge against Erik."

Yoshi chuckled softly, but said nothing. Sheldon turned to see tears on his friend's cheeks.

"I was panicking before about my paper, and now this…and, and…I just want to help, be there for Lil," he whispered.

"I can help you with your final chapter tonight," Sheldon offered.

Yoshi looked up at him, sniffed back his tears, and smiled. "That would be…really awesome. Thanks." He paused. "I love you Sheldon. I'm really happy you're going to be my brother."

"I…I love you too," Sheldon said, knowing his words to be true. He put out his hand to shake Yoshi's but was pulled into an awkward side hug. A honk behind the truck made them both jump, and Yoshi continued the drive to the house.

That evening, Yoshi and Sheldon fixed dinner for the family, cleaning up afterwards as the women talked in the living room, making plans for the next few weeks. While they dried the pots and pans, Michelle entered the kitchen.

"Can I talk with you two for a moment?" she asked.

Sheldon and Yoshi faced her, Sheldon feeling a bit nervous about what new favor he would be asked to perform. But instead, Michelle took them both by the shoulders.

"When my daughters were growing up, I hoped they would meet nice men to share their lives with. But I now see they brought into our family two of the most wonderful people…" she paused, her eyes glistening. "I just want to tell you…I am so happy and proud to have you two as my sons." And she wrapped them both in a tight hug, Sheldon not feeling awkward in the embrace but rather a sense of true belonging.

The next day, the family lingered in a new waiting room, Elder Fox moved from the ICU to another room in the hospital. Michelle, Lillian, and Yoshi planned to go to the cafeteria for lunch, but Rosemary wanted time with her father, who remained awake now, but had not yet regained speech. She wanted to fill him in on the wedding plans, entertain him with stories from the senate.

"Come on, Sheldon," she said, heading down the hall to the patient rooms.

"I'll…I'll wait here. They have a three-year-old _Good Housekeeping_ I haven't read," he said and felt relieved when Rosemary simply smiled and nodded, leaving him behind.

The magazine proved to be rather boring, Sheldon already knowing how to remove ink stains from linen, and he finally threw it aside and marched down the hall to Elder Fox's room. Peaking inside, hoping to go unnoticed, he saw Rosemary seated beside her father who was hooked up to several machines, monitors beeping. Yet, he smiled at his daughter as she told them about her education bill and the friends she made at the capital. She looked up and saw Sheldon. Her smile caused Elder Fox to turn slowly toward the door, and he raised one of his hands to feebly gesture for Sheldon to enter.

Pulling up a chair, he sat on the opposite side of the bed from Rosemary, noticing how small Elder Fox looked. But his future father-in-law surprised him. Reaching out, he grabbed Sheldon's hand tightly, brought it up to his face, and kissed it, his other hand taking Rosemary's. Sheldon stared speechless at the man as his hand fell back on the bed, still in Elder Fox's strong grip. Rosemary took Sheldon's other hand, and the three sat in silence for several moments before she resumed her story about the obnoxious Senator Gergich, who sat across the aisle from her at the state capitol.

Now, on her wedding day, Rosemary came out of her room, descending the first staircase, and standing at the top of the final set of stairs, leading to the hall and the large living room where she could hear the voices of the wedding guests. At the bottom, waiting for her, leaning on a cane she'd carved and painted, a totem pole of sorts featuring images important to her family and tribe, stood her father, beaming up at her. She came down the stairs and took his offered arm.

"You ready?" he said quietly, grinning down at her.

"Yes," she whispered and turned her thoughts to Sheldon as music began to play.

 _ **Author's Note: In the next chapter, Sheldon, Rosemary, and Lillian attend Raj's wedding, and a conflict may tear a friendship apart.**_

 _ **I haven't received a whole lot of feedback on this story, although I can see a lot of people visiting my work, so please let me know your thoughts.**_

 _ **Hope you are enjoying the story. Take care, everyone!**_


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

 **The Playboy Physicist Actualization**

Leonard stood behind Sheldon and Yoshi, everyone gathered for the wedding processional. The assembly small, Leonard stood on his toes to see over the taller men in front of him, seeking out Penny, seated beside Amy, in the second row. She turned to look back, smiling and winking at him before turning her gaze to Sheldon. The two women grinned broadly, then leaned in to whisper. Leonard began to guess at the conversation, when his sleeve was pulled, and he looked to see Rosemary's sister Lillian, looking brightly stunning in a blue gown, standing with him.

"The bride is ready," she told the three men around her, linking arms with Leonard.

Yoshi turned around and smiled broadly at his wife.

"You look beautiful," he said, leaning in to kiss her, but Sheldon pulled him back.

"You need to focus, Yoshi," Sheldon whispered.

"Nervous much, brother," Lillian laughed, and received a glare from Sheldon.

"Yo, Mable," Yoshi said to the elderly woman seated at a piano near the gathered group. "We're ready."

The woman turned and beamed at the younger people. "Sheldon sweetie, you look so handsome." Still smiling, she turned and began to play, a beautiful classical number Leonard did not recognize, certainly not the wedding march that played at his own nuptials.

Sheldon and Yoshi marched down the short aisle, Yoshi taking his spot at center, Sheldon off to the side.

"You clean up nice," Lillian said, looking over at Leonard, then turned to see Rosemary and her father come up behind them.

Leonard turned and felt his jaw drop. Rosemary looked enchanting, her dress the style of some medieval lady, her jewelry reflective of her Native American heritage. Her black hair flowed down her back, a small veil pinned into a turquoise head piece the only adornment. Beautiful, an elegant match for Sheldon, Leonard wondered, not for the first time, how he and his former roommate ended up with such amazing women.

Just before turning around, Leonard saw Rosemary step forward slightly, and he noticed her wearing bright red heeled boots. Puzzled by her choice, he shrugged and turned his attention to the aisle.

"Our turn," whispered Lillian. "Remember short steps, but that shouldn't be a problem for you."

Leonard turned to her and rolled his eyes in exaggerated fashion, knowing Lillian enjoyed teasing others, including yesterday at the rather rowdy pre-wedding basketball game, and previously, at Raj and Laura's wedding.

 _May 2017_

Rosemary sat in the back seat of her Prius, enjoying a break from their long drive to San Diego as well as the argument, now going on 45 minutes, between Lillian and Sheldon as to who played Sherlock Holmes the best. Lillian, a confirmed Cumber-bitch, argued in favor of the new BBC series. Sheldon seemed to flip flop between other actors in the more traditional representation of the detective, and Rosemary laughed at their passion for the subject.

Sheldon spent hours prior to the trip creating some sort of GPS game with fun facts and trivia, but he turned it off hours ago, as they crossed the Oregon/California border, to argue points in various topics with his fiancé and future sister-in-law. But Rosemary, who drove through the early hours of the morning, felt herself drift off to the arguing and laughter of her two favorite people.

Waking later to a closing door, she blinked at the Holiday Inn sign, and smiled. They'd arrived in San Diego, the site of Raj and Laura's wedding in two days time. The couple would marry in a large, elaborate ceremony at the Hotel Del Coronado on Coronado Island, near the naval base Laura's father, a retired Navy officer, spent most of his career and Laura grew up. Most of Sheldon's friends, along with the wedding party, stayed at the hotel, but in order to save money for their honeymoon to Iceland, Sheldon and Rosemary decided to stay in Old Town. Lillian, a guest of Raj's as the illustrator of the recently published black hole book, reserved an adjoining room.

"I'll call mom," Rosemary yawned, emerging from the car and allowing Sheldon to handle the luggage. Both sisters were going to cancel their attendance to the wedding, but their mother insisted, assuring them both their father made remarkable progress since his stroke. Still, Rosemary called on a daily basis.

After settling in, Sheldon looked down at a text.

"Penny says they are all meeting at a restaurant downtown," he said. "We're invited. In an hour."

"You two go. I'm the third wheel," said Lillian, grabbing her purse. "One of my friends told me about this cute little market near here. Catch you later."

A while later, Sheldon and Rosemary walked into the restaurant, a family-style Mexican place with large circular tables for big parties. They immediately found the group, Raj, Laura, Howard, Bernadette, Penny, Leonard, Amy, and Erik, just two seats remaining for them. Sliding in and grabbing a menu, she looked over to see Sheldon eagerly leaning in to see what everyone talked about.

"I'm so glad you made it in time to have dinner with us," said Laura, leaning over and grabbing Rosemary's hand. "We're meeting with my side later for cocktails, but I wanted to make sure Raj had time with his group before the madness of tomorrow, the rehearsal, everything."

"I wasn't aware of the rehearsal," said Sheldon.

"Just the wedding party, that's all," Raj said, waving his hand.

Rosemary knew Howard to be Raj's best man, and of course Erik the photographer, so she turned to Leonard and Penny. "So, would you two like to join us for something fun tomorrow afternoon?"

"Oh…well, we're running the guest book and gift area with Laura's cousins, and we've got another engagement with them, making plans. It's going to be a large wedding," Leonard said, giving a worried look in Sheldon's direction.

"So everyone has a job except me?" asked Sheldon, Rosemary having difficulty reading his tone.

Amy leaned forward. "Well, I don't. But I'll be at the zoo until right before the rehearsal dinner. You can come by there if you want."

Rosemary smiled and nodded, looking again at Sheldon, who turned to study his menu. Conversation became louder as appetizers arrived and drinks flowed, the only couples abstaining Sheldon and Rosemary and Amy and Erik.

"Do you remember at lunch last week when Kripke brought up Professor Havorford's flawed paper and…and…" but Raj choked on his words, laughing hard.

The rest of the table erupted in laughter, everyone seeming to know this story already. Everyone except Sheldon and Rosemary. And while Rosemary, often the quiet one at parties, enjoyed watching others have fun, she looked over to see Sheldon scowling.

"You eat with Kripke now?" he asked loudly.

"Sometimes," shrugged Howard.

"Oh…I see," said Sheldon quietly, studying his food.

The evening continued like this, Sheldon uncharacteristically quiet, both he and Rosemary listening to stories about Penny and Leonard as an old married couple, pregnant Amy's weird cravings, Raj and Laura attempting to get their abundance of dogs under control, Erik's upcoming film release in August, Bernadette and Howard pondering kids, and Stuart's success with the comic book store. Rosemary saw Sheldon clinch his napkin tightly when he discovered Stuart had a job as an usher.

Uh oh, she thought. Trouble ahead. And she knew what he was thinking too, being left out. She would probably feel the same.

Sheldon emoted when they entered the car.

"I was the leader of the social group, Rosemary," he shouted as they drove back to Old Town. "And I don't have a job!"

"I remember you complained about all the work you had to do being Leonard's best man and none of them have jobs at our wedding except Leonard and Erik and…"

"And Kripke! At the table! In my spot!"

"Sheldon, you said lunch is much better at SpaceX, especially on days when the food carts…"

"I don't know what they're laughing about. Or why or…or…"

"Sheldon," Rosemary said firmly, looking over at him after stopping at a light. "You're the one who moved away. Do you want to move back?"

"No. I prefer Tacoma to Pasadena. And my new job. And you."

"Then why would you think you're the leader of the social group still?" she asked. "And you have a lot of new friends, a lot more diverse than you had here. The guys in your train club…"

"Yes, but…"

"And the comic shop. You now host Dungeon and Dragons once a month at our house."

"Yeah, I know, but…"

"And Carson. You two are together all the time. And your basketball team. And our friends at the retirement home."

"Yes, but…"

"And Lil and Yoshi visit a lot," she continued. "And you have me."

"Rosemary!" he shouted. "Quit being…right."

Rosemary burst out laughing, Sheldon skulking next to her. She pulled into a parking spot near their hotel, unbuckled, and awkwardly crawled over to straddle Sheldon on the lap. He still scowled at her but didn't block her movement.

"I can't believe Kripke took my spot," he mumbled.

"How about we go into the room, and I'll touch your spot," she cooed before kissing him. Sheldon gave in, warmly kissing her back, his hands moving up her shirt in the back.

A loud bang on the car window startled both of them, and they turned to see Lillian grinning in at them

"You two are so gross," she shouted. "Come inside. I'm gonna Skype with Yoshi. He wants to practice his opening speech for his defense on us." She dashed toward the room.

Rosemary looked at Sheldon. "We'll listen to Yoshi, get rid of Lil, and then I'll remind you why you left this state to begin with."

Sheldon nodded eagerly, and the two headed inside.

The next morning, Sheldon walked hand in hand with Rosemary along the Coronado beach, enjoying the fresh air and the spectacular views, seeing jets and helicopters take off frequently from the nearby base. They'd gone beyond the area of the Hotel Del Coronado, both marveling at the beautiful and elegant wedding venue.

"I was just thinking about that film Carson recommended and we watched, _From Here to Eternity_ ," Sheldon said.

"Oh yeah, with that couple making out on the beach?" Rosemary laughed. "I always thought that would be so gross. Sand would get everywhere."

Sheldon grinned down at her. "I love how you think like me, Rosemary. Oh, and Carson wanted me to remind you they filmed _Some Like It Hot_ at the hotel, and Marilyn…"

"Excuse me," came a stern voice, and the couple turned around to see two men in military uniforms walking toward them. "This beach belongs to the U.S. military. Do you have proper clearance?"

Sheldon glanced behind them, realizing he and Rosemary walked quite a distance from the hotel area and were on a beach lined with unmarked buildings.

"Um…no," said Rosemary. "We didn't notice any signs and…"

"Come this way please," he said, and Rosemary gave Sheldon a frightened look.

The men led the couple into one of the small buildings, where they grabbed Sheldon by the arm and put him in a nearby room with only a small wooden table and one old folding chair. He heard the door lock and felt deep panic overtake him. What happened to Rosemary?

Sheldon thought it best to sit in the chair and wait. So he did, patiently, noticing every now and then movement outside the door, the peephole darkening as someone apparently peeked through. After thirty minutes, dark thoughts flooded his mind. If he got arrested by military police, it would cause a scandal for SpaceX. After all, Sheldon had become one of their leading scientists.

Then at the thought of scandal, a more frightening possibility occurred to him. Rosemary mentioned running for higher office, some of her colleagues he'd met mentioned her already being vetted for possible positions in Congress. Sheldon himself began planning Rosemary's White House campaign months ago. This would destroy her career, an incident with the Navy. How had this happened? They were just walking on the beach. Was there some sort of testing going on? Had they been exposed to dangerous radioactive waves?

Just as his heart rate began to rise, the door swung open, and an angry looking naval officer entered, slamming his hands down onto the table and leaning into Sheldon's face.

"What the hell were you doing on that beach?" he shouted.

"I…I was just walking with my fiancé," Sheldon stammered.

"What do you know about this facility, Dr. Cooper? Are you a spy sent by the North Korean government?"

"What? No…I'm just here for my friend's wedding and…"

The officer burst out laughing. "No, sorry guys, I can't do this. He looks totally petrified. And I don't want to get in trouble."

Suddenly, Raj and Howard entered the room, laughing hysterically. Sheldon sat frozen, confused. Was this some sort of prank?

"You should see your face, Sheldon," said Howard, tears in his eyes.

"Thanks Reggie," said Raj to the exiting man. He turned back to Sheldon. "He's a friend of Laura's father."

"Rosemary said you would be walking on the beach this morning," Howard said. "Just thought we'd have some fun with you, Sheldon. Like old times."

"Like old times!" cried Sheldon, on his feet and in Howard's face before he knew what he was doing. "Do you know how terrified I was?"

"Yeah, we were watching through the peephole," snickered Howard, Raj joining in.

"I thought about losing my job and…and…a scandal for Rosemary!" he screamed, wanting to hit Howard's smug face.

"Jeez, cool it Sheldon," said Howard, backing away. "That beach is actually off limits to anyone except military families. We just persuaded the guards to bring you to this storage shed rather than redirect you. But locking you in is all me. And Raj had the idea to call Reggie, who was just up the street. Nobody else is here. Pretty funny. It's just a joke."

"I'm always the joke. You always played pranks on me," Sheldon snapped. "I'm sick of it. Rosemary was right. I'm better off without you."

"What? She said that?" said Howard, looking serious. "Listen, Rosemary is fine. We told her we were taking you to lunch. She left a bit ago." He stepped aside. "Just go Sheldon. You're too good for us now anyway."

"I always was," Sheldon hissed. "And you were always a bully. I realize that now."

"Hey, I know some shit about you no one else does," Howard said back, getting angry. "How would you like everyone to know about your original trip up to Washington?"

"What?" asked Raj.

"The most important person already knows…Rosemary. So I don't care. This is no longer my social group," Sheldon said smugly.

"Fine, then I'll bring it up at the rehearsal dinner tonight," sneered Howard.

"Go right ahead. I won't be there anyway. Nor at the wedding tomorrow."

"Sheldon, no!" cried Raj, who turned to Howard. "I told you locking him in that room was taking it too far."

"C'mon, Raj," snorted Howard. "Sheldon can't take a joke. Never could."

"Please excuse me while I call my boss," Sheldon continued as he exited the room. "I think he needs to know I retract my recommendation on your recent application. I don't think he would want such uneducated trash working at SpaceX."

Howard's face fell in shock. "No…no…Sheldon, please…I…"

But Sheldon kept walking. And when he heard footsteps running up the pavement behind him, Howard calling his name, pleading, he kept walking, ignoring him. When Howard gave up, Sheldon pulled out his phone, texting Rosemary, discovering she met up with Lillian at a restaurant in town. He stomped off in that direction, feeling both angry and hurt.

Walking along the main drag in Coronado, lined with shops and entertainment venues, he spotted Rosemary and Lillian sitting outside a 1950s themed diner, both indulging in rather large sundaes. Sheldon crossed the street and sat in the empty seat next to them.

"Hey baby boy," said Rosemary, shoving her sundae over to Sheldon and handing him her spoon. "The guys told me they were meeting up with Leonard and going to lunch. Didn't really appreciate the way they got a hold of us, but…"

Sheldon shoveled a spoonful of sundae into his mouth, Rosemary's usual cookies and cream, this time topped with peanut M&Ms. Grimacing slightly at her odd tastes, he took another spoonful before telling the sisters about being locked in the room and his fight with Howard.

"They put you in there for over a half hour?" Rosemary gasped, a look of anger forming. "Assholes. I'd be terrified."

"And they watched you, laughing?" added Lillian. "What dicks! Howard's the really short one that looks like a rat, right?"

"And I'm not going to the rehearsal dinner, nor the wedding," he said with finality, pushing the sundae back to Rosemary.

"Did you call SpaceX?" asked Rosemary.

"Not yet," said Sheldon, pulling out his phone, but Lillian reached over and put her hand on the screen.

"I'd wait on that. This is his career," she said, Rosemary nodding in agreement. "Cool down, Sheldon."

"Yeah, maybe we could get him back," Rosemary said, then her face brightened. "I've been doing work on budgets and have a contact in the IRS. We can get them audited!"

Lillian rolled her eyes at her sister. "Your pranks are so lame."

"I'm just tired of being the butt of their jokes," Sheldon lamented. "I don't fit in here anymore. I'm…I'm…" He grabbed the sundae again, taking another large bit, appreciating the big glob of chocolate fudge accompanying it.

Rosemary jumped up. "Let's go to the zoo. Text Amy or Erik. They both said they're there today."

Lillian grabbed their trash, smiling broadly. "Do you think we can pet some of the animals? Like the pandas? She has access to those things, right?"

Sheldon followed the women back to the car, silently plotting. No, he would not go to the wedding. And Howard and Raj were officially uninvited from his.

Walking through the gates of the San Diego Zoo, Sheldon felt himself calm a bit. He always enjoyed going to the zoo, and Rosemary held his hand, turning to kiss him every now and then, making him feel at ease.

Amy and Erik both met them near the front gate, and Sheldon saw just how pregnant Amy was, since she'd been sitting the entire time the previous evening. Entering her third trimester, Amy still seemed very active, and led them at a fast pace to the primate exhibits where she worked, at least until leaving for Gabon the next year.

Lillian fell back to walk beside Sheldon alone.

"So that's Amy?" she asked. "The one who just broke up with you when we first met? I remember you being so devastated."

Sheldon shrugged, remembering his struggle. "Yes, but it was for the best. Amy did the right thing. Amy and I…we never made each other better…not like Rosemary and me."

Lillian beamed at him, then laughed. "And that's Erik, the man who stole her, and you were going to seek revenge upon."

Sheldon rolled his eyes. "I suppose…"

"I remember a story about a karaoke performance and…"

"Shush," hissed Sheldon.

Lillian shrugged. "Well, I think trying to get her back from him was a lost cause. They look adorable together. Plus…and don't get me wrong in saying this, Shel, cause you are a good looking man, far better looking than the rest of your friends. But that Erik guy looks like Chris Pratt in _The Magnificent Seven_. Hot."

Sheldon sighed heavily, thinking that Erik probably had a firmer hold in his former social group than he did. He looked at Erik, camera around his neck like usual, holding Amy's hand, bright smile on his face as he talked to Rosemary about the zoo. Even Erik had been a better friend to him than stupid Howard. Erik helped Sheldon buy a car, figure out things when Rosemary had been so far away, took him to get Andy Serkis' autograph. Howard just played tricks and made fun of Sheldon. He paused and pulled out his phone, scrolling to the SpaceX number when Lillian grabbed his arm.

"Pandas!" she cried. "Let's go!"

Later on that afternoon, Sheldon sat beside Amy in the primate offices, Amy holding a sleeping baby bonobo. Erik sat across the room showing Rosemary and Lillian photos he recently took on his laptop.

"I'm sorry that happened to you, Sheldon," said Amy after he finished his story. "Howard can be such a jerk sometimes, taking things too far. And Raj just follows along."

Sheldon nodded, using his fingers to delicately brush the hairs on the baby primate's face. He appreciated Amy's understanding. She always understood him. Had he ever truly understood her? He studied her for a moment realizing he hadn't. He never put in the effort; Amy had become just another comfortable routine. He looked over to Erik again, he and Rosemary apparently laughing at something Lillian said, and he felt grateful the man appeared and saved both him and Amy from a romance based on routine. Sheldon preferred the electric shock he received when he met Rosemary.

"I suppose Erik has replaced me in the social group," he murmured.

Amy laughed. "No. Honestly, since coming back from Gabon, we don't hang out all together that often. This weekend is kind of rare. Erik hangs out mostly with Raj one on one, and he has other friends, like Louis and he got close working on the film. I only see Penny now about once a week, if even. My world just got a bit…well, bigger. And I like it. And I don't really miss the unnecessary drama."

Amy's phone pinged, and she glanced over at it on the desk.

"Howard texting, for the tenth time I might add. You going to call him?"

"He only wants to apologize because I have something he needs," Sheldon scoffed.

Amy nodded. "Probably true. Well, you've got the power, Sheldon. Remember that Superman quote, with great power comes great responsibility."

Sheldon sighed. "Spiderman, Amy." Maybe she didn't fully understand him after all. Rosemary would have gotten it right.

Amy suddenly thrust the monkey into his arms. "Bathroom. Now. I swear this child is going to be a soccer player the way it keeps kicking my bladder."

She left, Sheldon now holding the stirring bonobo. Rosemary slid into Amy's vacant seat.

"Look at you, holding that baby monkey," she said, snapping a picture with her phone. "Feeling better?"

"Yes, a bit. But I still don't want to go tonight."

"We don't have to go to the rehearsal dinner," Rosemary shrugged. "But I do still want to go to the wedding. Laura is my friend too, after all."

Sheldon looked down at the baby, still feeling hurt as well as confused on what his next move should be.

The next morning Sheldon stayed in bed as long as possible, still indecisive. He'd ignored calls and texts from the group all the previous evening and felt grateful both Fox sisters, as well as Amy and Erik, supported whatever he decided. Still, the girls bustled around Sheldon, as he sat up in bed, both getting ready in a flurry of brightly colored summer dresses, rotating pairs of heeled sandals, and hair product. Finally, Rosemary and Lillian stood, both looking quite stunning, at the end of the bed, Sheldon still in pajamas and mussed up hair.

"Are you sure?" Rosemary said, frowning a bit. "Just the ceremony. I just think you might regret missing Raj's big day. You said yourself, he's usually the follower. He's not the one who…"

"No," Sheldon shook his head, but felt a twinge of longing. Rosemary looked lovely, and he always liked showing her off.

"I've got an idea!" shouted Lillian, who leaped up on the little coffee table in the room's sitting area as if making a grand announcement. "Sheldon, you've got two hot women here as your dates. You brought that smokin' grey Armani suit. And do you have sunglasses?"

"Yes."

"Well, then Rose and I will shorten our skirts a bit, you get all dressed up with your shades, I'll do your hair like Yoshi's, we'll all wear shades, and walk into the wedding like we don't give a fuck. Like you're some playboy physicist, with two hotties hanging off you. You are just honoring them with your presence," Lillian said excitedly, grabbing out Sheldon's things. "We'll fawn all over you. Get people to turn and stare, like who is that guy?"

Rosemary was giggling. "Oh, I love when we do the pretend thing. Remember that time we went to the Spokane mall and pretended we only spoke our tribal language and…" the girls burst out laughing.

But Sheldon nodded, liking the idea. Like he didn't care. Yes, yes, the playboy physicist. He was just gracing the assembly with his attendance and then leaving, never coming back to this stupid state again.

He allowed the girls to gussy him up, and soon they walked to the entrance of the Hotel Del Coronado, turning to the ballroom where the ceremony would begin shortly. Penny and Leonard, as well as several of Laura's relations, stood near the guest book, which the Foxes and Sheldon began to walk past.

"Sheldon," said Penny in an angry voice. "What the hell? Why didn't you return my calls? Howard is going out of his mind and…"

"Excuse me," interrupted Lillian in an audacious tone, stepping toward Penny. "You will not address Dr. Sheldon Cooper directly. Dr. Cooper is merely here as a formality and does not need to associate with the general riffraff." She walked back toward Sheldon and her sister. "I apologize on behalf of this rude woman, Dr. Cooper."

"That's quite all right," he said, giving Lillian his empty arm, Rosemary on the other, enjoying Penny's shocked look as they walked into the room, taking a seat in the very back row.

Leonard suddenly appeared in front of Sheldon, but again Lillian took over.

"Dr. Cooper, this man wishes to converse with you," Lillian said. "Do you accept his presence?"

Sheldon merely nodded and turned to face Leonard, who looked at him exasperated.

"Sheldon, come on. Howard is…"

But Howard appeared beside Leonard. "Sheldon, for God's sake, I left fifteen messages. I'm sorry, so, so sorry."

Sheldon felt angry again, but Lillian once more took control. "Dr. Cooper is under the belief that you are only apologizing because you need something from him. The prank you played caused him much distress, particularly over a possible scandal for his politician future wife, my sister. He does not find you amusing. I do not find you amusing. Dr. Cooper has heard your apology, and whether he chooses to accept it or not remains his decision." She sat down and took Sheldon's arm, leaning into him, the three of them staring up at the two men through their sunglasses, blank expressions on their faces.

Leonard tried to stifle a smile, then walked away, leaving a miserable looking Howard in front of them.

"I am sorry. And not just because of SpaceX," he whispered, his voice thick. "You said I was a bully. And…and Stuart mentioned the same thing a couple of weeks ago. And Raj the other night at the bachelor party, and…I…" he turned and walked away.

About ten minutes passed, and the wedding began. Sheldon enjoyed the ceremony, glad to see Raj, who'd struggled for years, finally happy. And when they went through the receiving line, Sheldon embraced his friend in a real hug. Still, he bypassed Howard and Bernadette, and when the latter began a high-pitched rant, Lillian stopped the shorter woman instantly with a mere glance over her sunglasses. Between Missy and Lillian, Sheldon now felt he won the jackpot in sisters who would take care of him, and he again felt the warmth of family.

Still uncertain about his future with Howard, Sheldon declined attending the reception, choosing instead to sit on one of the lawn chairs along the beach and think. The girls attended for a bit, but soon met him, Rosemary handing him a piece of cake.

"Talked with Erik about photos, but we'll also talk before the wedding. He's coming up two days early to scout the scene. And Leonard and Penny are still coming next month to help with final plans," said Rosemary, kissing his forehead.

"Hey buddy," came Leonard's voice, and Sheldon looked to see him and Penny coming over. Leonard stopped. "Is it okay to approach?"

Lillian laughed and looked at Sheldon. He nodded.

"Listen, I'm not going to apologize for Howard or tell you to forgive him because after I heard what he did, well he can suffer for a bit," Leonard said. "But I wanted to see if you were okay and…"

"Am I still a part of this social group, Leonard?" Sheldon asked.

"I think so," Leonard answered hesitantly. "Sheldon, you are still my best friend. Too hell with the others. Who else can I have a full day text conversation with about the Darmok episode of _Star Trek: The Next Generation_?"

"Darmok?" asked Penny, looking confused.

"Ohhh…it's a really good episode where Captain Picard tries to communicate with this alien species who speaks in metaphor," chimed in Rosemary.

Sheldon shook his head. "Educate your woman, Leonard."

Penny playfully slapped Sheldon on the shoulder, and the five of them talked for a while before Sheldon and the Fox sisters headed back to their hotel.

That night, after Rosemary fell asleep, Sheldon lie awake thinking about his years in Pasadena and the adventures he had with his friends. He thought of the individual relationships he had, the one with Howard being the rockiest. While he thought they'd found a good place, with Howard helping him after his break-up with Amy and Sheldon helping with Howard's troubles with Bernadette, he knew they would never be as close as he was to Leonard, or even Carson. Still, he wondered at Howard's distress over being called a bully. What had happened with Stuart and Raj? Sheldon just shook his head. He needed to focus on _his_ friendship with Howard.

The next afternoon, as Lillian took over the drive and Sheldon settled into the back seat, he asked for silence as he called Grant at SpaceX. Afterwards, he phoned Howard.

Howard answered on the second ring. "Sheldon, Sheldon, thank you for calling. Again, I am so…"

"My boss Grant will be calling to set up an interview with you next week," Sheldon said. "If you need somewhere to stay while up in Tacoma, the sofa at our place is available."

"Oh God, thank you, thank you, Sheldon. I can't…"

"I'm still angry, but we are friends and we will work it out. And it would be wrong of me to deny SpaceX of a fine engineer," Sheldon said. "Good afternoon." He hung up before engaging in further conversation.

The car remained silent, but Rosemary reached her hand back and squeezed his knee, and Lillian grinned at him in the rearview mirror.

Now, as Leonard led Lillian up the aisle at Sheldon and Rosemary's wedding, he finally took his place beside his friend, able to see the entire assembly. Howard and Bernadette, seated beside Raj and Laura, smiled at them from the third row. Leonard knew the couple would be heading up to the Seattle/Tacoma area following the wedding to look for a new home, as Howard would be starting at SpaceX in September. Sheldon's exit shifted their group significantly, and he wondered how this move of Howard's would further change them.

"You have the ring?" Sheldon leaned over and whispered to Leonard over the sound of the piano music.

"Yes!" hissed Leonard.

"Because it could have fallen out of…oh my," Sheldon trailed off and Leonard's face broke into a wide grin as he watched Sheldon see his bride for the first time.

 _ **Author's Note: Next time, Penny and Leonard visit to help with final wedding preparations, and Penny plans a fun wedding eve activity for the entire group.**_

 _ **Only one chapter left of the "reflection" before we get to the "wedding day." Hope you are enjoying the story. Please send a review my way. I always like hearing what my readers think. Take care, everyone!**_


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

 **The Klingon Agreement**

Sheldon felt awash with emotions as he watched his beautiful bride walk toward him, emotions he used to fear and ignore but now embraced as he fell further in love with Rosemary.

Rosemary looked simply stunning, her dress resembling that of her Arwen costume for their first comic-con. The gown, an off-white pre-Raphaelite cut, delicate fabric flowing down from her sleeves which ended at her elbows, intricate beading below a scoop neck that accented her breasts nicely, pleased Sheldon greatly. And seeing how she added the turquoise jewelry, her hair flowing just how he liked it, brought Sheldon back to the very moment he first saw her, her black hair spilling down her back as she played Brahms on the piano. Brahms, which played now as she approached him, now just mere feet away.

He watched Elder Fox kiss Rosemary's cheek then offer her arm to Sheldon, who pulled Rosemary toward him and, without thinking, pressed his lips against hers.

"Hey, hey, watch it, Coopersaurus," laughed Yoshi, who pulled Sheldon back from his woman. "Wait until Dr. Johjima says you can kiss your bride."

The assembly laughed, and Sheldon suddenly remembered at least two dozen people watched them. He glanced out into the crowd and locked eyes with Penny, who winked at him. He smiled back before returning his gaze to Rosemary, remembering the advice Penny gave him the month before.

 _June 2017_

"Wow, so they live here?" asked Penny as Leonard led her to Sheldon and Rosemary's door. "For some reason, I just imagined them living in the same apartment layout. Stupid, huh?"

Leonard kissed her as he knocked on the door. "It's a good place, they have all sorts of nerd art and photos up. But Sheldon always mentions something needing repair. Not sure if it's his obsessions or if the house is actually needing the remodels."

"From the Facebook photos of them working on the place, it looks like they have fun together," she sighed. "I want a house to do stuff to."

"Really?"

"Hell yeah. Getting kind of tired of the apartment. And that stupid elevator. So yeah, climbing the stairs is great on the legs but…"

The door opened, and Sheldon smiled at his friends.

"Hello Leonard, welcome back. And Penny, welcome to Tacoma. I trust the drive went well," he guided them into the house.

Sitting in the living room, Leonard, Penny, and Sheldon caught up, Rosemary not yet home from the capital. Sheldon began dinner after receiving a text she'd be home soon.

"Look at you, Sheldon," laughed Penny as he returned to sit with them in the living room. "Rosemary really domesticated you."

Suddenly, Rosemary, dressed in an elegant and feminine suit, burst in the door, arguing with someone on the phone. The three friends stared as Rosemary ended the call with a harsh good-bye. With a loud growl, she threw the phone onto the empty chair.

"Oh, hi," she said pleasantly, immediately replacing her past tone. "Sorry. Just another senator…trying to block my education bill. He's the only one…just…" She growled, but took a moment to kiss Sheldon.

Leonard, not knowing much about politics, looked to Penny, who asked, "Can someone do that, block your bill?"

"Well, no, but he is a powerful senior senator, his region has one of the largest school districts in the state. And he's a total asshole," she said, slumping down onto the sofa next to her fiancé.

"Is that Senator Wyatt?" asked Sheldon.

"Yes," Rosemary groaned.

"He's the one we had lunch with that day I visited the capital," Sheldon said.

"Yes, and you two argued about the new _Star Trek_ movies," she sighed. "That's his only redeeming quality…he's a Trekkie. Other than that, he's a cold-hearted, son-of-a…"

"Give me your phone," said Sheldon. "I'll talk to him."

"You can play politics?" asked Leonard with a laugh.

Sheldon nodded. "I have an idea."

Rosemary shrugged and handed Sheldon her phone. "Last number I dialed."

Leonard shared a glance with Penny, who looked amused at the situation. Sheldon dialed and put the phone to his ear.

"Senator Wyatt?" he asked. "This is Dr. Sheldon Cooper, Rosemary's fiancé."

Sheldon paused, as if listening to a response, then began speaking again, this time in Klingon. He went on for several moments before pausing again, then continuing, his speech more forceful than ever. Leonard looked at Rosemary to see her grinning, eyebrows raised in delight.

The conversation ended abruptly, and Sheldon handed his phone back to Rosemary.

"You have his support," Sheldon said. "But we do need to give him our Michael Dorn autograph."

Rosemary shrugged. "Done. I'm more of a Riker girl anyway." She stood up and whispered into Sheldon's ear, Leonard noticing him blush. She then moved toward the kitchen. "I'll finish dinner, baby boy. You visit with your friends."

"I'll help," said Penny, leaping up and following Rosemary.

Leonard leaned toward Sheldon. "What did Rosemary say to you?"

Sheldon leaned in, grinning sheepishly. "She said she enjoyed my Klingon and would love to engage in some Klingon foreplay later this evening."

Leonard let out a laugh. "Klingon foreplay? Damn Sheldon, are you sure you're ready for that?"

Sheldon studied Leonard, looking puzzled. "I did fine the past two times."

Leonard felt his eyes widen, and leaned back in his seat, just staring at his former roommate. Sheldon had become quite kinky indeed.

Penny helped Rosemary set the table, asking about her father, the wedding, her work. Sitting down together, Rosemary asked, "So how are things in pharmaceuticals? You probably meet a lot of interesting people."

"I hate it," Penny said, surprising herself. Yet, she and Leonard talked about her dislike of her work throughout their drive north. "It's just, I came out to California to pursue acting, and I'm selling drugs."

Rosemary giggled. "Well when you put it like that..."

"I know!" laughed Penny, then felt a bit bitter. "And nobody but Leonard seems to support me. Bernadette keeps saying I'm lucky to be where I'm at. And Amy and Erik didn't even give me a chance with their film."

"Um, isn't their film a documentary about Gabon. AIDS orphans, chimpanzees, the culture and ecology?" asked Rosemary.

"Yeah, but they hired a narrator. And they didn't even ask me," lamented Penny.

"Who did they get?"

"Helen Mirren," sighed Penny.

"Wow! That's really cool. She's amazing," Rosemary said, then hesitated. "But I'm sorry you didn't get a chance."

"I mean I can do a British accent too," Penny said, than did her best impersonation of Julie Andrews. "Let's have a cup of tea and crumpets."

She watched Rosemary bite her lip, obviously trying to stifle a laugh. Penny finally burst out laughing.

"It's terrible," she said, composing herself. "But I liked acting. And I can do better than that stupid ape movie. I just need to be more proactive."

"Then do it! You said Leonard supports you?"

"Yes."

"Then you have all you need," Rosemary said, turning her attention back to the stove. "I never would have run for senate, but Sheldon gave me that little extra push. Don't let that dream die, Penny. You should love what you do. I love the museum, I really love working in the capital. You should love your work."

Penny fell silent as she watched Rosemary work. She turned toward Sheldon, engaging in some lively conversation with Leonard. What a difference two years makes. The Sheldon of two years ago lived in darkness, mourning his lost relationship with Amy, and now he was responsible for the happiness of another. Instead of the toxic romance with Amy, where he continued to subconsciously oppress and tear her down, always putting his emotional needs first, forcing things his way, he raised Rosemary up, encouraged her, supported her, made phone calls in Klingon for her.

"I'm so happy for you and Sheldon," Penny said. "Hey, do you have a bachelorette party planned?"

"Yeah, my sister has something planned with my friends around here," said Rosemary. "A week before the wedding. Not sure what, but she promised a lot of penis-shaped party favors."

"Those are the best kind of party favors."

Rosemary giggled. "Since I have so many family members coming, and we're trying to keep the guest list small, I don't have room for some of my friends and colleagues. But my aunts always give great gifts, so it's good. And Lillian has always been my best friend anyway." She paused. "I was a little worried about Sheldon, only having three family members coming, but he talks about you guys like family, so…it'll be great. Nice, small, intimate."

An idea sparked in Penny's mind. "Can I plan a small event? The day before the wedding? For you and Sheldon?"

Rosemary raised an eyebrow. "Sure. Anything penis-shaped?"

"No, but let's not forget the balls," Penny said.

Rosemary giggled again. "Okay, now you have my attention."

"It's a surprise," Penny said. "But it'll be fun, promise."

"Is balls a clue? Is this like a scavenger hunt?"

Penny shook her head, smiling. "I'm not Sheldon or Raj. No puzzles involved."

Penny and Leonard decided to stay with Sheldon and Rosemary, bunking down in the living room after a late night of board games. The next day they planned some trips on the ferries as well as Leonard learning his final commitments as best man.

In the small hours of the morning, Penny awoke on the sofa, Leonard sleeping on the floor, to see the still pajama-clad Sheldon enter the kitchen. She padded softly in after him as he turned on his expresso machine, then put a tea kettle on the stove.

"Oh, good morning, Penny," he said, pleasant and wide-awake. "Latte?"

"Ohhh, yes please," she said, leaning against the counter next to him. "Hey, Sheldon?"

"Hmmm?"

"Can I give you some unsolicited advice?"

Sheldon sighed heavily. "You always do."

"Keep doing whatever it is you are doing," Penny said, grabbing the milk from the refrigerator. "This is you, Sheldon. You did this. You became a man who is going to be a marvelous husband and maybe a father. You're a good man."

Sheldon paused, looking at Penny. "I've heard that a couple of times lately, but coming from you Penny, someone who's known me at my worst, means a lot."

Stepping forward, he embraced the shocked Penny, the two standing together for several moments before breaking apart and resuming their coffee and tea brewing activities.

Late morning the day before the wedding, Penny gathered together the younger wedding guests on the basketball court of the McCarthy's bed and breakfast. She stood before the assembled group, excited to announce her event, Leonard not even knowing. She told everyone to wear work out clothing, and she almost laughed out loud at seeing her husband dressed in basketball shorts.

"All right, so I thought since the bride and groom enjoy basketball, and Sheldon always talks about the basketball game he played with Rosemary the week they met, I want to hold the first annual bride versus groom basketball game!" Penny announced.

Sheldon raised his hand. "First annual implies we will be doing this every year and…"

Penny let out an exasperated sigh. "Never mind that…Bride versus groom!"

Everyone cheered. Penny gestured for Rosemary and Sheldon to step forward.

"The game is three on three due to the size of the court, so you can switch out players. First team to forty points wins," Penny explained. "And the winners get these medals."

She pulled some fake gold medals from a bag on the sidelines, favors she picked up at a party store on the way home from an audition.

"Oohhh," said the group in exaggerated fashion.

"How are we going to pick teams?" asked Sheldon.

"School yard pick," said Penny.

"No!" cried Howard and Leonard together.

But Sheldon looked very pleased. "I've never been in charge of a school yard pick before."

"Well, first I'm taking Amy out, since she is carrying her own basketball," laughed Penny, guiding Amy to a seat beside Elder Fox and Glenn, who came outside to watch the group play. She handed Amy a notepad. "You can keep score."

"And I am taking myself out of the game because I suck," said Yoshi. "I'm officiating the wedding, I can officiate the game too. And that makes things even."

Penny nodded, then turned to Rosemary and Sheldon. "Okay, rock, paper, scissors, lizard, Spock to see who picks first."

Sheldon won, and he turned to study the group.

"Lillian," he pointed to his future sister-in-law.

"Ha! First picked, suckers!" she said, running up to stand beside Sheldon.

"Hey, she's my sister! My matron of honor!" cried Rosemary.

"And terrifying. I don't want to play against her. She hurt me last time," said Sheldon, and the group laughed. "You can take my best man."

Rosemary looked at the group, meeting eyes with Leonard. "Sorry Leonard, but I need to go with height. Carson."

Carson nodded and walked to stand beside Rosemary. Taller than Sheldon, Carson towered over the entire group.

Sheldon turned to his friends again. "Erik."

Amy cheered from the sideline as Erik walked forward.

"What the hell, Sheldon?" cried Leonard.

Sheldon shrugged. "Erik taught me to play."

"Raj," said Rosemary. "I heard you still play on a team."

Raj grinned smugly at both Leonard and Howard, kissed Laura, and all but skipped to join Rosemary and Carson.

"Penny," said Sheldon. "Sorry Leonard, but I like to win."

Penny kissed her husband's cheek, then joined Sheldon with a high five.

Rosemary bit her lip in thought. "Olivia, any experience?"

Olivia laughed. "No, but I've been to several games at Madison Square Garden. Second row behind the bench. A player fell on me one time."

"Hmmm…Bernadette?"

"I'm cute and fierce and gonna be living near you soon," Bernadette smiled sweetly.

"Laura?"

"Played in high school, still run three miles a day and…"

"Okay, Laura," Rosemary picked, grinning over at Sheldon.

"Bernadette!" said Sheldon immediately.

Rosemary stared at the three left, Leonard, Howard, and Olivia.

"Olivia! Hoping some of that player's talent rubbed off on you," Rosemary said.

"Well, his sweat sure did," she laughed. "Total ew!"

Leonard and Howard stood, the remaining two.

"Always last picked," Leonard sighed.

"Leonard!" called Sheldon.

Left alone, Howard sighed and walked toward Rosemary's team, and for a moment, Penny wondered if there was still a bit of animosity between Sheldon and Howard. She wondered how things would play out when he and Bernadette moved to Seattle in the fall, Bernadette already having a job lined up. She'd overheard Sheldon say to Leonard the evening before he wished Leonard would move up instead. Things were definitely changing.

The game began, Penny expecting a silly competition with a lot of errors and laughter. What she got was a highly competitive battle between the bride and the groom, the couple seeming dead set on beating one another. Rosemary and Lillian, neglecting their freshly manicured nails, went head to head several times, name calling, their father laughing hard from his seat. Sheldon and Erik played well together, but at one point Sheldon accidently passed it to Carson, who played on his team back in Tacoma, allowing two-points for Rosemary's team.

"Thanks, Sheldon!" waved Olivia, blowing him a kiss before throwing her arms around Carson, who's usual serious face grinned in a mocking fashion at Sheldon.

In the end, Rosemary's team won by five points, the final point scored by Howard, the only basket he made in the game. Her team leaped up and down in celebration before everyone went inside for fresh lemonade made by Sally. Rosemary grabbed Penny in a tight, sweaty embrace.

"That was so much fun! Thank you," she said, before running up to Sheldon and slapping his butt. Sheldon grabbed her, wrestling with her before they kissed deeply.

Penny watched, feeling her heart swell with joy for Sheldon.

After dinner that evening, Leonard gathered the men for a small get together in the dining room doing what Sheldon requested for his bachelor party – Dungeons and Dragons. Howard organized a special wedding edition, but had to take a moment to explain the rules to Yoshi and Carson, the two having never played before.

"Cool," said Yoshi when Howard finished. "Okay, two more questions. How long does the game last? And can I be the thimble?"

After everyone got situated, Howard began the story.

"The beautiful princess Rosemary Fox has been kidnapped by the evil dragon and…"

"Wait, wait, wait," Yoshi said. "I don't think Rosemary would be stupid enough to be kidnapped by a dragon."

Howard sighed. "It's the fictional version of Rosemary." He looked back at his notes. "And now the brave knight Sheldon is charged with saving her, as well as the kingdom…"

Carson stifled a laugh.

"What?" asked Howard, Leonard sensing his irritation.

"I just know Rosemary," shrugged Carson. "She wouldn't wait around for the…um…brave Sheldon to save her."

"Yes," nodded Sheldon. "By the time we arrive, she will be just finishing beheading the beast. We enter the room to see her lick the blood from her dagger."

The table fell silent.

"Whoa, dude," said Raj, looking a little shocked. "Those are some rather vivid and dark sexual fantasies you're having."

Sheldon glared at Raj, but Carson broke in. "Does the grid pattern on the board have anything to do with the size of the dragon? And is it to scale with the figurines of the orcs and knights?"

Howard put his head in his hands, but Erik started laughing. "Honestly, these are legitimate questions. I just didn't ask the first time I met you guys because you all knew what you were doing. When I was a kid, my sister Jess and I invented a version of Dungeons and Dragons Monopoly using pieces from the Sorry game. It's what happens when you go camping and all your board games are incomplete."

"Yes! Let's do a mash-up! I wanna be the thimble!" yelled Yoshi.

An hour later, the men engrossed in the game, Rosemary came into the kitchen, carrying a tray of several empty glasses. Many of the women, friends and family alike, gathered in the living room to chat. But the crowd began to dissipate, most heading back to their rooms at other motels in the Cougar area. Leonard stayed with Penny in the room next to Sheldon's upstairs, Sheldon's mom and Meemaw sharing the other room. Missy would arrive very early the morning of the wedding, only staying the one night, taking over Sheldon's then empty room. The third floor housed the Fox party, Yoshi and Lillian, along with the bride. Sally and Glenn stayed up there as well, relinquishing their main floor room to Michelle and Thomas, as Elder Fox still recovered from his stroke and could not tackle the two flights of stairs.

Rosemary placed the dishes into the sink, looking over her shoulder at Sheldon. Leonard watched his friend smile longingly at her. She lightly kissed his cheek on her way out.

Erik bowed out of the game first to take Amy to their motel, sacrificing his character to a fire imp in noble fashion. Watching them leave, Leonard shook his head, realizing the Koster-Fowler baby would be arriving in about a month. So many changes…

Carson left next, merely knocking over his piece like one would a defeated king in chess.

"My apologies, Sheldon, but I find this game tedious and pointless," he rose and left without another word.

The five men played for another hour, Rosemary once again entering after some time, this time to retrieve a paper towel. She paused to run her hand along Sheldon shoulder, causing him to shudder and rise, following her.

"Whoa, stop!" cried Yoshi. "You are thinking about going to Rosemary's tonight, aren't you? Well, it's almost midnight. You can't see the bride on the wedding day before she meets you at the altar. Bad luck!"

Penny, Lillian, Bernadette, and Laura rushed into the room.

"You two can't sleep together tonight!" yelled Lillian.

"We weren't!" claimed Rosemary defensively.

"We're not?" asked Sheldon. "But…"

"No, Sheldon," said Penny firmly. "And Leonard and I will be sitting outside your door if you try to sneak up to see her."

"Yeah, Lil and I at Rose's," Yoshi said.

"We're not children…" Rosemary began, but Lillian cut her off.

"We've seen you. You making every excuse to come in here."

"Fine, then I'm going to bed now," she said, throwing up her arms and leaving the room, her footsteps fading as she went upstairs.

The group dissipated soon after, and Leonard found himself sitting next to his wife, leaning against Sheldon's door, both in their pajamas.

"You know, we're married. I can see you. Naked," said Leonard hopefully. "I don't care if Sheldon sees Rosemary tonight and…"

"I know you don't believe in astrology and fortunetellers and superstitions, but I do, and this is important because…because…I want Sheldon to be happy, successful, everything to work out," Penny said.

Leonard studied her for a moment, and gave in, leaning his head against the door, and peering at the _Glamour_ Penny brought with her.

Inside the room, Sheldon paced back and forth like a predator at the zoo. He wanted to see Rosemary. Sure, they'd slept apart, when he went to conferences or she stayed in the capital, but she was right upstairs, just yards from him. Right above him…hmmmm...

Grabbing a chair, Sheldon climbed up and knocked softly on the ceiling, hoping the Hofstadters would not hear. He heard a return knock. Leaping down and running to the window, he threw it open and ducked his head outside. Rosemary looked down at him, her black hair framing her face.

"Sheldon! They've blocked my door," she giggled.

"You need to be rescued from the dragon!" he said. Without thinking, he began to climb out the window.

"Sheldon!" Rosemary whispered loudly. "You can't…you'll fall and…"

But love seemed to blind Sheldon to his past fears. Thankful for the Victorian-styling of the house and the steeply pitched roof and gables, Sheldon had plenty of angles to grab onto, and he soon fell through Rosemary's window. Rosemary slapped Sheldon on the shoulder. She looked terrified.

"Sheldon, you could have been killed!" she hissed, still in a whisper, Lillian and Yoshi right outside her room. "Are you crazy?"

"I'm not crazy. My mother had me…" he paused. "Yes…yes, I'm crazy. Crazy about you."

He grabbed her in a tight embrace, kissing her passionately. Soon, they fell softly onto the bed.

Sometime later, Rosemary and Sheldon lay together, Rosemary still naked, Sheldon in just his briefs, having attempted to get up thirty minutes before only to be pulled back by his fiancé. Running his fingers through her hair as she lay on his chest, they talked about their upcoming honeymoon to Iceland, which they would be leaving for in three days. They reflected on the basketball game, Sheldon longing for a rematch.

"No way," said Rosemary.

"Yes," argued Sheldon, now leaning over her.

"No," Rosemary giggled back and began to tickle him.

Soon the couple rolled around laughing loudly, causing Lillian to burst through the door. Rosemary yelped and dove under the covers, Sheldon now standing in just his briefs beside the bed.

An argument ensued, and soon Sheldon ran from the room, past the sleepy Yoshi, down the stairs, to find Penny and Leonard leaning on each other, both asleep, in front of his door.

"Penny? Leonard? I need to get in before…" he said.

"Sheldon! I can't believe you!" yelled Lillian, startling both Hofstadters awake.

"Sheldon, why are you in just your underwear?" asked Penny, eying him up and down. Then realization dawned as she awoke further and stood with her husband. "How in the world did you…"

But Sheldon burst through his door, and slammed it behind him. He heard the others talking, then laughing, in the hall, but the house soon fell silent. He walked over to his still open window.

"Rosemary?" he called.

She again appeared, dressed now, smiling down at him.

"I love you, Sheldon Cooper," she said.

"I love you, Rosemary Fox."

"Marry me in a couple hours?" she asked.

"Yes."

"See you at the altar," she said. And then she was gone, her window closing.

Now Rosemary stood in front of her groom, smiling broadly at his bold kiss. She glanced out at the happy faces of the guests, but her eyes were drawn like magnets back to Sheldon's. She heard Yoshi clear his throat to begin his speech, and her heart leapt with joy.

 _ **Author's Note: I really enjoyed writing this quick little chapter and including most of the characters, both from the show and my OCs. Please let me know what you think. Only one chapter left of this story.**_

 _ **Next time, Dr. Sheldon Cooper and Senator Rosemary Fox wed.**_

 _ **Thank you for reading.**_


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

 **The Vows Recitation**

Yoshi began the marriage ceremony, but his voice became a distant sound to Sheldon. He found himself looking intently into the eyes of Rosemary, who met his gaze with such love, he felt almost weak. How had this happened? Dr. Sheldon Cooper, who pledged to himself (and continually reminded others) that he was already a superior being, that he didn't need companionship, now stood at the altar. Sheldon Cooper, intelligent but socially awkward to the point of occasionally debilitating, gained the love of a brilliant, kind, and beautiful woman.

Looking in her deep brown eyes, he felt transported to the moment he first saw her, standing in the doorframe of her bedroom as she played the piano. He replayed their first conversation, searching for clues that would hint toward this moment in time, them joining their lives forever. But he found nothing in particular, reminding himself that love often stood outside the logical, the tangible. And he'd grown to accept this and finally, embrace love. He didn't stall or block like he'd done in the past. He no longer ran and hid. Rosemary filled in all his empty spots, and he finally felt whole. Of all his talk about being a superior human being, he hadn't truly felt that in reality until this moment in time. He'd found his person, his future, his true love, and now nothing would stop him…no, them…from taking on the world and beyond.

"Sheldon?" came Yoshi's voice, almost yelling.

Sheldon snapped out of his thoughts. "Huh?" he said, immediately regretting how inelegant he sounded.

"I said, the bride and groom prepared vows. And you're up first. You insisted on alphabetical order by last name," Yoshi said.

"Oh…yes…of course," he said, refocusing back on Rosemary, ignoring the light laughter from the audience. "Rosemary, I…"

Damn, it happened again! When he proposed, his whole speech left his head, and he just popped the question, no long, elegant speech. But relief seeped through Sheldon…he'd placed a copy in his pocket in case of this same emergency. Holding up a finger to Rosemary, he pulled out the paper and unfolded it, his jaw dropping in horror. That morning he'd scribbled down an equation that suddenly came to him, an addition to his dark matter theory. And that is what he put in his pocket, the vows on the nightstand in the bedroom. He swallowed hard and looked back up at Rosemary.

"Rosemary, my love," he said. "I love you more than I could ever express in words or numbers or….or…." he hesitated, feeling dozens of eyes on him.

"Or interpretive dance?" chimed in Yoshi, and the assembly laughed. Sheldon looked at Yoshi, who winked at him, and he felt a bit calmer. He liked how Yoshi used humor to diffuse a situation, a skill Sheldon was sure he'd never possess.

"Yes, or interpretive dance," he said.

He looked out at Penny, who smiled at him broadly. Penny always helped him in difficult times, often after making fun of him, but she did help. Keep doing what you're doing, she'd said. He looked back into Rosemary's eyes. What he'd always done with Rosemary is tell her how he felt, from when he'd shared about his family only a few days after meeting her to when he struggled with the obligations of her being in public office. Just tell her how you feel, Cooper!

"I love you, Rosemary. Simple and pure. You make me happy. And I will spend the rest of my life supporting you, taking care of you, loving you, in order to deserve you, your love, your goodness," he continued. He heard small gasps from the audience, a few sniffles. Sounds like he was doing well. "I know I'm a difficult person to be with. I find myself difficult to be with most of the time. But you make life better, and I promise to make your life better as well, every day, better and better, for the rest of our lives. And beyond, although I have extreme skepticism about…"

"That was beautiful, Sheldon," Yoshi said, patting Sheldon on the back. "Rose?"

"Sheldon, baby boy," she said, smiling warmly at him. "I'd given up on love, thought I would just be alone for the rest of my life. And then I turn around one day, and there's this handsome, gangly man standing in my doorway. And I was captivated. And I fell. And every day I'm falling more and more." She paused, biting her lip in that thoughtful way Sheldon adored. Her eyes were wet. "The way you support me, the way you let me take on my dreams, fighting right there beside me…I'm the luckiest woman in the world. And I promise to love you, to support you, to take care of you, for all time."

Sheldon once again leaned forward to kiss his bride, but this time Yoshi stuck his hand in front of Sheldon's face. The groom smashed his nose into Yoshi's palm.

"Not yet!" Yoshi hissed to more laughter. "Rings?"

Sheldon turned toward Leonard, who already had the ring out, a smug expression on his face. Sheldon repeated Yoshi's words as he slipped the ring on Rosemary's finger. Rosemary did the same, then grinned at him and winked.

"By the power invested in me by the state of Washington and the internet, I now pronounce you husband and wife," Yoshi said, his voice booming and joyful. "Kiss your woman, Sheldon."

But Yoshi hadn't finished the sentence. Sheldon grabbed Rosemary and pressed his lips hard against hers, her sweet vanilla scent, her softness, dominating everything. She wrapped her arms around him and deepened the kiss, and everyone erupted in cheers and cat calls. Finally, they separated to breathe.

"Hello, husband," she said softly.

"Hello, wife," he grinned before diving in for another kiss.

The assembly had a small receiving line just outside the bed and breakfast as Sally, Glenn, and a few helpers quickly reconfigured the large great room for the reception. Tables also sat out in the basketball court, the weather lovely, not a cloud in the sky.

As they received congratulations and best wishes from everyone, Sheldon leaned over to whisper in Rosemary's ear. "In some cultures, it is appropriate for the bride and groom to consummate the marriage immediately following the ceremony."

Rosemary blushed at his suggestion. "Sheldon! A lot of people put together a nice reception, Laura some great music, Sally that awesome dinner as well as that gorgeous cake. It would be rude to just disappear to have sex."

"Everyone would understand the need to engage in post-marriage coitus, Rosemary," Sheldon said. "We can make it quick."

"I don't want it to be quick," she said, leaning her body into his. "I want it to be long and hard and throbbing and…"

"Stop, stop, stop," whispered Sheldon, his face red, Rosemary sensing his quickened breathing.

"Plus, remember the fifty buttons," she said, turning a little to show the back of the dress to Sheldon. He stared with a look of dismay. "You said they wouldn't get in your way."

She watched him swallow hard. "Okay, reception and cake first, but I'm going to get an early start on those buttons.

Rosemary just laughed, and soon Erik appeared to take a few group photos, one featuring the entire bridal party as well as all the guests.

The reception went by like a blur for Rosemary. People ate, sitting in and around the bed and breakfast, and everyone reassembled in the great room for the cake cutting, also the time for speeches. Best man Leonard went first.

"When Sheldon returned home from his trip to Washington, in which he'd driven the car he stole from me," Leonard said to laughter from the audience. "I knew a miracle occurred. While still the same Sheldon we all knew and loved and, well, found a little irritating, something profound changed about him. He truly cared about another person, without being prompted by any of his friends. He talked about Rosemary all the time, and, being his roommate for several years, I began to see a change in him slowly take over. A man in love, a man now with the world. With Rosemary, Sheldon is finally the homo novus he always claimed to be, a complete man, a better man. Thank you, Rosemary." Leonard raised his glass. "And Sheldon, while I miss you and our Roommate Agreement and drives to work, I cannot tell you how wonderful it is to see you genuinely happy." At this point Leonard began to tear up. "I…well…I mean…" he blubbered, and Penny appeared, guiding him out of the front of the crowd to his seat.

"Cheers to the bride and groom," she said, and applause followed.

Lillian stood next and pulled out her phone, scrolling a bit. "I want to read something to everyone." She cleared her throat. "While I applaud your efforts in pursuing your doctorate, geology is a colossal waste of time. Here is an example of one of the more noble sciences. Enjoy! SC." Rosemary smiled broadly at her sister, knowing where this was going. "That is the very first interaction I had with Dr. Sheldon Cooper, the SC in question, an unsolicited and rude comment left on my blog. I forwarded this comment to my sister who replied…" Lillian scrolled again. "Ah yes, she said what a tool."

The audience laughed.

"And now they stand side by side, husband and wife, and all because of my pursuit in geology and Sheldon's need to let everyone know he is better." She smiled warmly at the couple. "And he is right. He is better. Better because he has my sister, my favorite person in the world, as his wife. And she is better for having met him, my new brother, who supports her and loves her in the way a kind and wonderful soul like Rosemary deserves. Cheers!" Lillian raised her glass. "And hopefully Sheldon fixed that citation error in that article he sent me." She grinned and sat back down.

Afterwards came dancing and mingling, people moving in and out of the house visiting with one another, Erik flitting all over taking photos. The great room became a small dance floor, and after the bride and groom's first dance, Rosemary took the floor with everyone, from Yoshi to Leonard to Carson to her father, who she couldn't help but cry tears of joy with, having been so close to losing him. She watched Sheldon dance with his mom and Meemaw and Penny before her aunts cut in, and she laughed with her father to see how red Sheldon got in the face after apparent harassment from her relatives.

Finally back in Sheldon's arms, they swayed together to a slow song. Sheldon moved his hand up into Rosemary's hair, resting it on the back of her neck, massaging her gently. She sighed, leaning against him.

"This is a good day," she said.

"Yes," he said above her. "I'm very glad I sent your sister that comment."

"Me too," Rosemary smiled.

"There," Sheldon said, leaning back to face her. "Seven down, 43 to go."

"What?"

"Buttons," Sheldon said, smiling triumphantly.

Rosemary placed her hand on her neck under her long hair, and sure enough, seven of the top buttons we undone. Feeling aroused at Sheldon's sly way of undressing her, she looked up at his smug face.

"You sneaky, sexy man," she whispered. "But no more. I don't want anyone to see."

Sheldon leaned in. "But I want to see. You naked. Now. Come on, most people are not paying attention." He began to pull her in the direction of the stairs when Raj approached.

"May I have this dance with the bride?" he asked, extending his hand in gentlemanly fashion.

"Of course," said Rosemary, glancing back at Sheldon who appeared defeated. But there would be time later.

And later came soon, as guests began to return to their motels. The wedding party stayed at the bed and breakfast helping clean up before heading to their rooms for the evening.

Rosemary entered the kitchen to see everyone about to tackle the rather large mess.

"Let me change, and I'll help with…" she began.

"Seriously, Rose," laughed Lillian, coming up to her sister. "Always so helpful. Take care of that horny husband of yours. Please, before he bursts. He's been looking at you with obvious lust since the ceremony."

Rosemary could feel herself blushing deeply, but Lillian pushed her into the foyer in front of the stairs to the waiting Sheldon, who grabbed her hand and dashed with her up the two flights of stairs to their bedroom, hers alone the previous evening. Well, at least in theory, Sheldon having snuck in.

Missy already moved his things into the room, having taken over the second floor suite. Sheldon only briefly considered re-ordering the shirts in the closet, as his sister had not hung them up in the logical, color-coded way he liked. But he had 43 buttons to take care of and a marriage to consummate, far more pressing matters.

Closing and locking the door, he spun around to Rosemary, who stood like some medieval princess. For a moment he just looked at her, his wife. Sheldon Cooper's wife!

"We're married," he said plainly, suddenly realizing it fully.

She walked up to him, moving her body flush against his, putting her arms around his neck. "Yes," she said.

He kissed her, and his eidetic memory replayed their first kiss for him, on that rainy November day in Tacoma, the chill in the air completely brushed away by the warmth that is Rosemary.

Forty-three buttons! As they kissed, Sheldon worked his fingers around and undid a few more, but his hands began to tremble more and more. Finally, he broke the kiss.

"Rosemary, please turn around," he said.

"Baby, we have time…"

"You do not understand, kitten. I have been aroused since you walked down the aisle," he said, emphasizing his pleading look. He wanted her, especially because he kept being told he couldn't have her. He worked around her and tackled a couple more buttons. "It's my wedding day. And everyone keeps telling me no kissing, no coitus. But…but…blast these!" He turned toward his suitcase and pulled out a pair of scissors.

"Sheldon, what are you…oh hell no!" she cried upon seeing the scissors, then laughed. "This dress is now a family heirloom. Maybe our daughter will wear it. We cannot cut it up."

"We'll never get a chance to make a daughter if I don't get you out of that dress," he said, then shrugged.

"Slow down," Rosemary said again, coming up to him and undoing his pants. Pulling out the belt and moving them down a bit, she reached in and grabbed his erection over the silky underwear she'd chosen months ago.

Sheldon groaned, closing his eyes, feeling a little relief in the pent up coital tension he'd felt all day. He remembered a time when he didn't want coitus at all, and at the moment it completely dominated his thoughts. And he felt perfectly fine with that. Leonard was right…he'd achieved becoming the homo novus, successful in work and love. A complete man.

Continuing to allow Rosemary to stroke him, he walked her backwards until she sat on the bed. At this point, he moved away from her, casting away his shoes, socks, and pants, Rosemary reaching out when he finished to run her finger along his member delicately, again boiling his blood.

He leaped on the bed behind her and got more buttons before she captured his lips again and pushed herself on top of him. Her hair piece toppled off and crashed against his forehead.

"Ouch!" he cried, but he cast the piece onto the floor and resumed their deep kiss.

Rosemary suddenly leaped up. She looked at him with lust. "Sheldon, get me out of this dress!"

He went to the back, getting a few more undone, but still not enough to slide the dress off. Blast! Rosemary turned and ripped off his jacket and expertly undid his shirt buttons. Soon he stood in just the special wedding night underwear. Rosemary again pressed herself to him, clutching his penis, mouth on him so roughly she bit his lip. He didn't complain. Instead he kneeled to the ground, lifted up her dress, and went under.

He went underneath earlier to retrieve her garter, which he immediately flung at Carson, the only unmarried man present. And in his journey, he'd seen a pair of light blue lacey panties, the quick view giving him an erection he had to stealthily adjust as Rosemary tossed her bouquet, right in the face of the laughing Olivia.

Now under her dress, he snaked his fingers up her legs, and caressed her sensitive area on the outside of her panties, Rosemary moaning, leaning against him. He smiled as he looked at the red boots she wore, just for him. Her Wonder Woman boots. She'd need to keep those on. But not the panties. He grabbed them and pulled them off of her, then pushed his fingers into her vagina, pressing against her clitoris.

"God…Sheldon…please!" she cried, but he kissed up her leg and ran his tongue against her folds.

Wet, Rosemary's wonderful taste. He moved a third finger into her, rubbing vigorously, her cries mounting as she became wetter for him.

"Sheldon…I'm…I'm…ooohhh…." she groaned, and he felt her knees buckle as she went to lay down on the floor.

Both on the floor, Sheldon still under the dress, he felt her vagina tighten around his fingers, more of her fluids flowing, moistening his lips. He smiled triumphantly, happy to get her to climax early, as he always enjoyed making her orgasm multiple times. While he'd made the initial goal of 50, to match the number of buttons, after careful reading, he thought that might be excessive and rather exhausting after such a busy day.

Rosemary calmed a bit, and Sheldon emerged from under the dress, his own arousal almost painful. His wife sat up slightly, looking a bit dazed, her face flushed, hair everywhere. She grinned.

"Wow…that was…get me out of this dress!" she said.

They leaped up again, and Sheldon went back to work on the buttons. Only 20 more!

"I think I can wiggle out," she said, and Sheldon moved around as Rosemary slipped out of the sleeves, the front of the dress falling open, revealing her bare breasts, support built into the dress. Sheldon hadn't expected this, and he stepped forward and cupped both breasts, remembering the first night they explored one another, back in his bedroom in Pasadena, the eve of Leonard and Penny's wedding. How frightened he'd been, yet how excited as well. Finally letting himself go with someone. And everything always felt so right with Rosemary, he hadn't hesitated or stalled, he went for it. And now it paid off. Rosemary was his wife.

Rosemary finally wiggled her way out of the dress, nude except for the boots. Stepping away from the now large pile of clothing on the floor, she grabbed at Sheldon's underwear, pulling it down his legs before he kicked it away. She hugged him tightly as she kissed his neck and shoulders, their naked bodies together, Sheldon's hot, hard member pressed against her, making her stomach sticky.

She moved away and lie on the bed, motioning for him to follow. He moved up onto her, sliding inside her with a hard thrust, causing them both to grunt in a rather animalistic manner. But Sheldon didn't feel embarrassed. He could let go with Rosemary, enjoying being a man with his woman, a husband with his wife.

He climaxed after only three thrusts, coming hard into her, losing himself completely, crying out her name over and over. Rosemary squeezed her legs around him, the leather of the boots against his skin, and ground up against him, tightly gripping his hair, and he felt her orgasm again as well.

Sheldon wanted to stay inside, but he felt incredibly sensitive and rolled to lie beside her. They both lie together, breathing heavily.

"Will we have time to do this in Iceland between all the sightseeing?" Sheldon asked, when finally able to speak.

"Baby boy, you're the only sight I want to see," she said, breathlessly. "We didn't plan that much. Just the excursion with Glenn's friend to some of the volcanic sites. But I don't think we should cancel. Volcanos erupting….you erupting. Good inspiration. Metaphor. Symbolism and…" but Sheldon rolled over and kissed her simply on the lips.

"Thank you for marrying me, Rosemary," Sheldon said.

"Thank you for marrying me, Sheldon," she answered.

Sheldon and Rosemary didn't quite get to fifty that evening, but as he lay on the edge of sleep later, he felt he'd accomplished something greater than even his dark matter theory. He'd grown up, become a man no longer completely dependent on others, but someone others could depend upon. He'd somehow become worthy of the love of someone as special as Rosemary Fox.

 _ **Author's Note: Next time, an epilogue reveals the future of Sheldon and Rosemary.**_

 _ **Thank you for reading.**_


	8. Chapter 8

**Epilogue**

 **The Cooper Prolepsis**

Sheldon threw a load of laundry in the washing machine in the garage, then took his shirts from dryer to fold up in his and Rosemary's bedroom. Having just returned from their honeymoon in Iceland the day before, they had chores to do before heading back to work in two days. As he walked upstairs, Sheldon felt happy to be back to a routine, the excitement of the wedding behind them. Still, he'd had a great time in Iceland, seeing volcanoes that reminded him of his first week with Rosemary, making a couple new connections for future episodes of _Gents and Gemstones_ , and engaging in frequent coitus.

"Baby boy, look," said Rosemary, as he entered the bedroom, throwing his shirts on the bed and retrieving his folding device. She showed him a text from Lillian. "Her defense is scheduled for a month from today. Good. I think she's been irritated Yoshi got his doctorate ahead of her. And it's open to the public, so we can attend."

"Excellent," said Sheldon, starting work on his shirts. "Another doctor in the family."

Rosemary sat on the bed, fidgeting with one of his shirts. "You know, it's been a year since I put my own program on hold. Maybe I should think about returning."

Sheldon just smiled and nodded, knowing her future lie in other realms, higher offices, world domination. He looked up to see her lying on the bed, watching him with a smile, and he leaned down for a kiss.

 _Two Weeks Later_

"Sheldon!" cried Rosemary from the kitchen, Sheldon startled at his garage work bench where he painted a new building for the model train display for the Bellevue Children's Museum.

He walked into the kitchen to see her sitting at the table in front of her laptop, Facebook on the screen. Sheldon gasped at the photo.

"They had the baby!" Rosemary cried in delight. "A week early but healthy. Her water broke last night, in the limo on the way to the Gabon film premiere."

Sheldon looked at the joyous faces of Erik and Amy, a little baby with a head full of white-blonde hair and emerald green eyes. Luc Matthew Koster-Fowler, the caption read. Sheldon slid into the seat beside his wife to read the full post.

Rosemary took his arm, leaned against his shoulder, and sighed.

"I want one," she said wistfully.

 _Ten Years Later_

Dr. Sheldon Cooper sat on the VIP platform, the rocket on the launch pad in the distance. To his right, one seat away, Rosemary looked over at him and grinned.

"This is it," she said, her voice rising above the crowd gathered below to watch the launch. "I'm so proud of you."

He looked to his left to see Carson and Olivia Silverthorne, both looking excitedly around them at the commotion, Carson finally locking eyes with Sheldon and nodding. This is it indeed, Sheldon thought.

Three years prior, a computer programmer at his SpaceX campus designed a program for Sheldon's dark matter theory, and as he plugged his thoughts and numbers into it, using the solar system as a primer, he made a shocking discovery. Learning from past mistakes, Sheldon went to Carson, who number crunched and problem solved with the physicist for two straight weeks, day and night, before no other conclusion could be made: a space anomaly existed just beyond the orbit of Jupiter. After reporting the discovery to Musk, NASA became involved, and soon, all the world's telescopes pointed to the tiny part of space where the Cooper-Silverthorne Anomaly spun like a mystery eager to be solved.

Claiming rights to the discovery, SpaceX set out designing a probe to explore the anomaly, as well as the rocket to take it there. Sheldon took a moment to glance behind him and smiled at Howard, the lead engineer of the probe, sitting with his team, laughing at some private joke.

Turning to face the rocket again, he saw Rosemary's assistant Craig ascend the platform with a drink carrier. He first stopped before Sheldon.

"Hot tea for you, Dr. Cooper," Craig said, then turned to the little raven-haired girl sitting between Sheldon and Rosemary. "And a hot chocolate for you, Arwen Marie."

"Thank you, Craig," Sheldon's daughter said, giving Craig a sweet smile.

"And a vanilla latte with an extra shot for you, Governor Fox," Craig said, handing Rosemary her drink. "Also, the vice president left a message with your office. She would like a holo-conference later. Does 4 p.m. work for you?"

"Yes, thank you Craig," Rosemary said, then took a long sip of her drink as the man left the platform. Rosemary turned to Arwen. "You excited to see the rocket launch, honey?"

Arwen nodded eagerly. "How far will Uncle Howard's probe travel?"

"Millions and millions of miles," Rosemary said, then looked up at Sheldon. "Maybe far enough for a Nobel Prize, huh?"

Sheldon tried to act casual and shrug, but Rosemary already knew he hoped this discovery was finally the one. The whole world talked about the Cooper-Silverthorne Anomaly.

Of course, he would not be the first of his Pasadena group to garner a Nobel Prize. Two years before, Amy, Erik, and the rest of the Project Gabon team won the Nobel Peace Prize for their work in ecological preservation as well as encouraging humanitarian efforts in Western Africa. While he felt a twinge of jealousy, he felt more pride in seeing Amy use her talents to make the world better.

"Are they starting soon, daddy?" Arwen asked.

Sheldon looked out to see one of the engineers walking to the platform with a remote with a red button, a bow on top. Ceremonial rocket detonator, he guessed.

"I think so," he said, looking down at his daughter, the spitting image of her mother, but her eyes not the deep brown, but rather a lighter shade, with flecks of blue.

A sad thought struck him. Arwen would be beginning full day kindergarten in two weeks. The past few years, he'd been able to work from home part time to alleviate the hours Arwen spent in child care, and he would miss the days of puzzles, tea parties, and story times. Still, he looked forward to seeing the academic his daughter would become.

The engineer with the detonator approached Sheldon and Carson. The two men looked at one another, and Sheldon pointed toward Arwen.

"Go ahead," he said, smiling broadly at his little girl.

Arwen let out a yelp of joy and pressed the red button. The countdown began at thirty, and the crowd cheered loudly.

But Sheldon's eyes were not on the rocket. They locked on Rosemary's, who looked lovingly at him over the head of their excited daughter.

 _ **Author's Note: Thank you all so much for reading my The Big Bang Theory alternate universe. I truly enjoyed sharing my stories with you.**_

 _ **People write fanfiction for many reasons. For my Star Wars stories, I write with a deep love of the fandom, the universe, and the characters. However, this is not the reason I wrote TBBT fanfic. I began The New Beginning Experiment out of frustration for the plummeting quality of the show. I longed to see real character development, not the reliance on tired archetypes and plot tropes. I simply had other ideas, and I abandoned the show for my own universe, happy to play around with the characters, adding my own touch.**_

 _ **Having not watched the show in over a year, I felt I needed to stop writing TBBT fanfic; I am no longer a fan. But the story of Sheldon and Rosemary seemed unfinished, and thus we have The Wedding Day Reflection.**_

 _ **I arrogantly adore my character development of Sheldon as well as Amy, and I loved creating characters to support and challenge them as they grew and changed. If at least one reader out there in the wide world found my stories engaging, I am satisfied.**_

 _ **But this is it…I was late to the TBBT party (caught up then began watching about season five), and I am happy to leave early. Still, I am grateful to the supportive people in this fandom, and I hope we will meet again. Please follow my other work; I have many more stories planned in Star Wars as well as other fandoms.**_

 _ **Take care, everyone, and happy reading!**_


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